Don the Armour
by Here Strikes Dawn
Summary: A mysterious attack in Central City leaves its victims crippled, including one Elric brother. In order to save Ed's life, Al has to don his armour once again. But this time, Ed cannot fight to protect his little brother. How will events unfold? Al's POV, some Royai, Edwin
1. Chapter 1

Don the Armour

Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist or its characters. They belong to Hiromu Arakawa and the respective companies, although I created the original characters featured in Don The Armour. I am grateful to be able to create a story from this beautiful concept.

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The titles of all my stories on begin with A, B, C...and now D. It's a curse, and I promise, completely unintentional.

Just saying - who else would love a spin-off anime of Al's POV in Brotherhood? But I'd probably cry for each time that Al couldn't... Ah damn these feels.

Please enjoy!

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Chapter 1 - Save the One You Must 

_Truth's void_

 _Equivalent Exchange. A law consisting of equal output and input both physically and mentally. A penalty to remind humans of their place in this world, all of the naive alchemists who thought they would succeed at resurrecting the dead._

 _One had given his entire body, the other only a leg at the beginning of their journey._

 _One then gave a leg and his alchemy to God, the other only returning to his body at the end._

 _Does that sound equivalent? To a human, more than equivalent. But there were laws that had to be obeyed._

 _The Elric brothers had more to give..._

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 _Summer 1917 in Amestris - Central City_

The crowds roared. Thousands of people filled the stadium, cheering on their favourite teams. Some called out the name of a famous athlete or the name of the country that they supported. Alphonse Elric was cheering on his brother.

Sitting near the front of the stadium, Al was hunched over a particularly miniscule stall. On his left, the Rockbell mechanic was shrieking every Amestrian competitor's name; Al smiled awkwardly, wondering if "enthusiastic" was an understatement to Winry's excitement. She had even dyed the ends of her hair a vibrant white and green painted the same green and white colours of the Amestrian flag on her cheek for Truth's sake. All Al could do was roll his eyes, and attempt to become absorbed into the Games as she did. The seat on his right was currently vacant. He couldn't even speak about May. His Xingese companion had fidgeted through the entire of the first half of today's events (Al didn't remember what these were) and at the halfway interval, she was pouring her rendezvous awe in the gift shop. If Winry Rockbell was obsessed, May Chang bordered insane.

There was one cause for this pandemonium - The Amestrian Games. Ever since Father had been stopped almost two years ago and the military had withdrawn its forces from its neighbouring countries, Amestris had become a land to prosper. Trade flourished, communications had advanced leaps and bounds (Al scowled at the hurdles he saw on the racing track) and its people were at peace. And so these Games had been revived, as a way to secure the bonds forged between these countries: Aerugo, Xing, Creta, Drachma, Amestris and Ishval.

The first Games had been like an introduction to a story and now the second Games was the climax. There had been more hype, more planning and more events this year than the first Games could have imagined, so much so that May had planned her annual visit to Amestris to coincide with her favourite events. How much money she was spending in the gift shop Al could not fathom, but her seat had been vacant for nearly a full hour.

Al cringed in his seat, wishing for a quiet afternoon home in Resembool, sitting on the rooftop and watching the stars. Instead he had the flashing lights of the stadium in place of the stars and the never-ending gossip which resonated throughout the open-air building.

When would they shut up?

Al harrumphed silently in the too small stall. He rubbed his eyes and blamed his glumness on his tiredness. He hadn't slept well last night. _Someone_ had to do the worrying in the family. And Al only hoped that his worries were due to tiredness alone.

Ed definitely couldn't. He was backstage preparing for the interval's main show in the Games – a State Alchemist performance. Ed couldn't use alchemy. But Ed wouldn't be called "useless". So Ed would participate in the performance as a mentor to the other alchemists, many of whom were over twice as old as his eighteen years.

It was strange though – why would the military need to prove their strength through the State Alchemists? Why wouldn't the military just ask any alchemist to stage the performance? Al subtly shook his head – he had to enjoy this moment and stop worrying like a parent. After all, the brothers did not have much time left together.

The brothers had decided to head east and west respectively to discover more secrets about alchemy, and they were due to depart in a month. This was the last summer that they would spend together as a family in what could be years. If Ed wanted to go to the games…Al would follow and watch over his brother, as he had always done. At these Games, Ed would be heralded by his title of Fullmetal Alchemist, a legend engraved into Amestris' history, even without the ability to use alchemy.

To Al, Ed was Ed.

Snapping out of his thoughts, Al heard a shuffle to his right and listened to the rushed apologies of "sorry!" and "excuse me!" as May returned to her seat. Her eyes glimmered as she shoved all of the trinkets she had purchased into Al's face. "They're lovely…" he muttered back and placed them on her enormous pile of merchandise. The panda Shao May handed them hastily back to Al, her cunning eyes missing nothing.

Winry started to tug at Al's shoulder, whispering "it's about to start!" and the chatter began to dissolve into silence in the stadium. It was afternoon, but the stadium suddenly felt dark and mystifying as the bright lights were dimmed. A spotlight materialised above Al and he looked up to be temporarily blinded. The beam of light shone at the Official's Box, where the Fuhrer Grumman and other country leaders stood together in a line united. The Amestrian leader stepped up to a podium, his blue military uniform glowing abstractly in the light and started to address the hushed crowd. The uneasiness stirred in Al again – butterflies tumbling around his insides.

"I am proud to introduce the State Alchemists of Amestris, some of the most talented scientists in this country. They're here to uphold their motto – be thou for the people, but today, ladies and gentlemen, they are here for your entertainment!" Grumman smirked and raised a hand. The lights dimmed to nothing.

The crowds froze, and everyone held their breath. No children stirred, no banners blew in the stadium. Time itself seemed to have frozen. Al's legs were cramping beneath him and he was equally as restless. But as soon as the lighting remerged and he saw the raw materials for transmutations scattered across the floor, Al's eyes scanned the field for the golden-haired individual. The three, _four_ including the panda _,_ companions were in prime position to see all of the events. They had enough elevation to see over other spectator's heads without being so far away that all of the athletes on the track were the size of ants. Even with Ed's shorter-than-average height, Al spotted his brother with ease.

Edward Elric stood with his back turned to Alphonse, ponytail not even quivering in the still air. His hands were raised above his head, and his signature red cloak blazed like a sun-struck torch. And all eyes were upon him. The palms of his hands inched closer together until they were almost directly above his head. In the last second, they thrust forwards into a clap, and the sound had barely reached Al when the performance was unleashed.

There was a blur of colour and crackles in the air, blue sparks igniting in every direction. Rock pillars were forged from the bare earth, sculptures etched from fractured glass. Ed acted as a conductor to this alchemic orchestra, with each movement flawlessly planned, deftly moving from one transmutation into the next like a water dancer. Some of the designs that were created, which Al swore was the flamel snake that was his teacher Izumi Curtis' emblem, the same mark on the back of Ed's cloak. Of course Ed had to add his own flair to the performance.

In one corner, the Major Alex Louis Armstrong sparkled like an electric current, channelling his artistic alchemy into the ground, creating structures lacking neither in grace nor finesse. The only problem with his sculptures was that they resembled his hulking form, so Al couldn't credit the Major for his originality. But all of the structures became swathed in a blanket of smoke, when a phoenix of flame erupted from a _snap_ of fingers. Brigadier General Mustang had joined the music. The phoenix danced between the transmuted objects like it was in an obstacle course, swiftly diving between them with flawless ease. As the phoenix vanished in glistening embers in the centre of the stadium, the crowds too awed to speak in the finale of this show, it left in its track glowing rings indicating its path of flight.

Then there was the uproar of applause. All of the alchemists came to the centre to take a final bow. Ed turned around, caught Al's eye and beamed.

But it seemed that the brothers had only endured a fraction of the hell that Hell had proposed for them.

They were still paying for that one fatal mistake of resurrecting their mother.

Seven years on, and they were still fucking paying.

The earth started to shake. Lights flickered. A child screamed in the stadium.

Debris from the rock formations collided into the centre of the stadium, over the alchemists. Ed started to shout something, but vanished beneath the cloud of dust rising. Everyone started moving, but Al stared, vertigo reeling around his mind. It was like he was falling from a height, trapped in motion sickness. Trapped in that stall.

Al registered May shaking him. " _Get up, Al. They need your help!"_ The voice was like a dream. _"They're down there – Al. You might be the only one able to save them. Your brother is down there!"_

"Brother!" Al jumped from his seat and raced down the stairs like he was being chased by a tornado. May and Shao May scampered to keep up with him to no avail.

Al's feet skidded across the rubble and he landed roughly on his back. He clapped his hands to transmute and remove the debris. But his vision suddenly faltered. The back of his eyes were brandished with white. In the stadium, cries pierced the air ever louder; guns were shot into the sky to calm the ruckus. Nothing changed.

Al's mind wasn't there. He was at the Gate. Ed was there, a limp mass. Unmoving, still, frozen. He couldn't be - no way, no way!

Truth smirked, "What will you sacrifice, Alphonse Elric? What will you sacrifice…for your beloved brother?"

Al shuddered. What was left for them to pay?

But Al would pay anything. Everything. In a heartbeat.


	2. Chapter 2

Don the Armour

Hello all! Isn't illness fun XD Well at least the worry of exam results are out of the way - hard work does pay off even when I didn't think of that while inching through another page of revision!

I hope this is worth the wait, but it may need some rush editing when I'm better. I'll blame any mistakes on this cold XD

Enjoy!

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Chapter 2 - Two Alive, One Price

"Brother!"

It was certain – he had arrived at the portal. Al rushed forward, forcing his stunned legs to carry him to Ed. His pace quickened as his footsteps echoed across the chasm of white. Suddenly, an invisible force hurled him across the void. Al threw his weight on the force but he was pushed back like he was a drift weight. He was shaking violently, the opposite to his still sibling. Ed could never sit down when he was younger and now he wasn't getting up. He had to. For Winry…for Amestris…"Brother"

"I don't think that will work, Alphonse Elric…"

Truth stood up, a silhouette of white, and walked over to Ed. He placed a hand upon his golden locks, stopping an inch before making contact with Ed. Their hazy white hand drifted above Ed's like a cloud, never quite touching the sky. This Truth didn't have half of a left leg – this was definitely Al's portal. A feral growl rose in Al's throat. He waited for Ed to stir and kick the bastard somewhere that would hurt a mortal a lot. Ed would drag Al back through the portal, and would not let go until they were home safely. However, Fullmetal did not rise.

Al would have fallen to the floor like a melting candle. He would have fallen to the floor before Truth. He would have to the floor and begged for his brother's life. Ed had taught him to be strong…strong… faltering…slipping…Desperation clutched at his mind like a phantom presence unwilling to let go, cruel fingers of fate curled around him. The words slipped out. "Anything… take my Gate! Just send him home…"

"You cannot do that; neither of you will leave here without your Gate."

Al's head was shaking in denial. Ed was slumped over, virtually in the clutches of God. It was the younger Elric's turn to hold the mantle. But what could he do? He wasn't Fullmetal.

He wasn't the Fullmetal Alchemist. He was Ed's brother, recognisable in the past for his shining armour. Al's pulse quickened; he staggered on the spot. That was it. The solution popped into his mind, although his body screamed in protest. Every nerve was fired up, every brain cell scanning for another possible toll. But Al knew…the only way to save Ed was to give his spirit. It was nothing more than an entanglement of life, a coding system uniting soul and body. Even so, Ed needed that spark…

Al would have to don the armour again.

"That's the only way…isn't it?" Al's voice choked. "Brother has to have a portion of my spirit to keep his own soul bound in this world. I know he isn't dead yet! There's still time…"

"Would you really surrender all that your brother has sacrificed for you? I remember you stating that many times before…" Truth said, bored.

"Why would I remember something like that?" Al demanded. But God's words held significance to Al. Could he throw away his body when Ed had given up his alchemy for him? Al breathed in – all that mattered was his brother was alive and well. His shoulders sagged, "very well…"

Then Al's true plan started.

"Now, Ed!" Al cried, and Truth's head jerked away to look behind them. In those precious few seconds Al scampered to his feet, clapped his hands and threw them on the Gate. Before his eyes, it began to morph as the transmutation started. He wanted to break that invisible barrier. The stone shifted to the alchemist's will, but a second later it began to distort into strange shapes Al had not anticipated; the rock curled like a snake's skin.

And suddenly, the Gate opened. Black shadowy hands like stalks rushed out to meet him, and they were enveloped about him, securing each of his limbs so he was bound. He struggled at their unbinding grasp. He looked to his side, and saw that there was a shimmering of light on the Gate, and the transmuted stone reverted to its original form.

"Clever alchemist. But you forget – I know all." Truth tilted their gaze to Ed, and Al's eyes followed. "I know his time is running out. What will it be, alchemist? If he dies…human transmutation on him will become impossible. Will you let your transmutation result in what happened to your mother?"

"No," Al said feebly. "We learnt our mistake."

"Or have you? Why did you return here?" Truth said, their teeth flashing a gleaming white.

"I was pulled here. You brought him here too against our wills – there wasn't a transmutation! We shouldn't be here if we didn't perform human transmutation! Where is the Equivalent Exchange-" Al faltered.

"You came though. And you know the only way is for you to sacrifice a portion of your spirit before Edward Elric's is depleted entirely." Truth dropped to a crouch, a hand closing in on Ed's forehead. Al lashed against the black chains in a futile attempt to escape.

"Ed's going to propose! I just know it. He loves her and soon they'll have their own family." Al whispered, half to himself. "That's why I have to do it."

He could almost hear his brother's voice screaming in his mind, telling him not to be so stupid or reckless. Ed would tell him the words he needed to hear every time, even though _he_ was the one to be plagued with nightmares. Al would find his strength from Ed's while Ed was slowed down by Al's patient and kind demeanour. But they were both driven by resilience and unwavering determination. They were the Elric brothers.

"I know we will both live. If I die, my Gate will collapse, and you will cease to exist within me. You have to keep me alive in order to keep yourself alive." Al breathed, finding that his heartrate had returned to normal. He was feeling oddly calm.

He was levitating above Truth, but his feet then came into contact with the white ground of this void. And the shadowy hands unravelled and loosened by his hands. The binds on his legs however still held him tightly. Al could transmute.

"He has but seconds…" Truth smirked, his creeping smile finally widening in full blossom. Al registered the Gate's grip on him; he noticed the figure of his Truth radiating in front of him; the pressure of the ground beneath his feet which kept him standing. Al's focus was on his brother – now he could see the shallow rises and dips of Ed's delicate breathing. Ed was fighting. As always.

"Brother…enjoy Winry's apple pie for me," Al smiled thoughtfully, and clapped his hands. The sparks of blue alchemic energy trickled from his palms like electricity. He pushed them against his chest, but forced the energy to delve deeper. There was his soul, a burning flare of life and light.

"We are connected by our spirits," Al gritted his teeth as pain coursed through his body. He then started to drag his soul away from its core in his body so he could reach for a strand of his spirit. It was like he was ripping out his heart. "So you can accept mine, brother. It's not my body or soul…"

Any ordinary human would have screeched in agony. But tears welled in Al's eyes. Red spots flared angrily in his peripheral line of vision. Al felt his body crumble beneath him and he closed the eyes. Blood pounded in his head. "You have to take care of it though. I'll force you to drink twice the amount of milk…"

He struggled against his mind, shutting down to block away the pain. This was nothing. Ed had suffered so much more being the only member of their family left when he was eleven. Al opened his eyes to find the spots had vanished. He was unbound. Without slowing, he dragged himself over to Ed's form; the barrier had melted away. Ed looked peaceful, as though he was asleep. Al had seen that complexion so many times.

"For you, brother." And Al finally screamed. His spirit transferred like an invisible rope towards his fallen brother; as quickly as it started it was done. But the younger Elric's soul and body could not be supported by a fractured spirit. It required too much energy. Of course, there was the toll to pay too; even though this was Truth's void, it was still human transmutation. He would have to leave one of them behind. He would leave his body behind for the second time.

Al had to stay conscious. However, he was slipping away. Not into death, but into unconsciousness. He fought as Ed would have done, hoping that his resolve did not waver now. Truth watched on silently.

He had no energy left to speak. In the corner of his eye, he saw a suit of armour being coughed out through the portal until it landed beside him. It was cold and desolate. He could feel his soul shiver in protest. Al didn't hate much, but the sleepless years living in that body were one of them.

A hand rested on Ed's forehead. It was warm to the touch, as though sunlight was beaming down upon them. Al could almost smell the sunflowers and dandelions dancing in the light. Dazzling colours, wind brushing his ears, all the while eating an apple pie. The world was a beautiful place with the senses to experience them. And now he wouldn't feel anything. He would plunge into a dark rift, and awaken in that armoured body, the light like a reflection in a mirror he could imagine, but never experience.

A flash. Splitting. Severed pain.

He was floating. He looked down and gasped to see his body on the ground. Now he was above the armour.

Another flash. And Al's soul was inside the armour.

Al was frozen. But he heard his brother stir uneasily with the shifting of clothing and the crack of knuckles followed by an awakening yawn. "Al…what's going on?"

…

"No…

"No….NO!"


	3. Chapter 3

Don the Armour

I'm sorry everyone - this feels train is going on a very, very long journey. We're just at the beginning. But isn't "feels" the definition of "Fullmetal Alchemist"? XD

More soon folks! Enjoy ^^

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Chapter 3 - Stand On Your Own

Imagine having a terrifying nightmare. Whether that nightmare contained silence, cold, pain, there was always the solace that the waking world awaited. For Al, that nightmare was eternal.

He felt like he could hear his heart beating in his chest, but his chest was a cavity of iron. He felt like he could sense his muscles cramp after being in an awkward position for too long and shift them sub-consciously, but his legs were empty hollows of steel. His flesh and bone body was now a dream. The armour was his persisting nightmare.

Al saw nothing – everything around him was an opaque black. He was frozen. It was as though he was floating in an empty place, devoid of warmth. But he knew deep inside that if he tried, he would be able to see through caged eyes of the armour. Why should he bother? After all, he was bound to this nightmare. At least in this empty place, he wouldn't have to face reality.

"Al…what's going on?" Al's vision flashed. He knew that voice. He started to struggle – he had to _wake up._

"No…" Ed said. Al struggled more fiercely, and his mind flickered on the edge of consciousness.

"No…NO!" Ed's scream pierced Truth's void like a never-ending echo. The voice revitalised Al, and a hollow cry erupted from the armour body as Al rose shakily to his feet in a second. His vision flickered once and Truth's void became clear, although Truth appeared smaller and slightly distorted, like a moving picture, and his vision was limited. He tilted his head downwards before realizing that wouldn't work – he had to will his helmet to move. And it did.

He saw his gloved gauntlets. His fists were shaking and rattling. He heard every fibre of metal clink as he looked down at his gloves. Al's entire body began to shake as though he had been infected with a fever.

Hell, this wasn't his body. He was back in the armour. But that meant…it was done. His transmutation had been successful.

However, this was no dream.

"Alphonse…" he heard that voice whisper. Al willed his soul to spread throughout the body, touching each sliver of metal, and commanded it to obey him. He saw the metallic legs clank once on the white floor and pivot around. He didn't want this moment to happen. He knew he was going to see his brother's expression.

"Brother…" But Al's words failed.

Ed stared back at him, his mouth wide open, tears sliding down his face. Ed was still crouched on the floor, and seemed to have lost all strength to stand. He reached out with his left arm, the right arm still propping him up, and touched Al's metallic leg. Al felt his soul tearing apart. "Al…what have you done?"

Ed looked past Al, and saw Al's real body slumped over while Truth sat beside it, holding a hand on Al's back. Armoured Al collapsed to his knees, wishing Ed was still unconscious; Al had never seen his brother in so much pain. A haunted look clouded his golden eyes.

"I had to, brother…I'm so sorry," Al said while tilting his helmet away from Ed's lost gaze. In the corner of his vision, Al noticed that Ed was straightening up and regaining his posture. He shook his head furiously, so his hair whirled around him.

"You're such an idiot, Al," Ed whispered to his younger brother before turning to face Truth. Al glanced around as well, a fury welling inside of him – it was disgusting, wrong – Truth shouldn't have control over his body. It was almost violating.

Fullmetal's fuse snapped first. Ed unleashed that madness before Al had the chance to. "How dare you take Al's body, you sadistic bastard! He's my little brother, moronic son of a bitch…"

There was no reply.

"HOW DARE YOU, YOU BASTARD!" Ed spat across the void.

"It was Alphonse Elric's choice to bring you through his portal, Fullmetal Alchemist," Truth said emotionlessly. "And so he had to pay the consequence for keeping you alive."

"I can't believe it you twisted piece of cr- what?" Ed suddenly stared at Al, a confused complexion rising on Ed's face. "What does the bastard mean, Al? What happened?"

"At the Amestrian Games, Ed…at the end of the alchemist's performance…there was an accident…it entombed everyone…including you…" Al whispered, choking at the memory from mere minutes ago. He would have brought every person he knew through the portal, but he could only bring Ed, by being bound by spirits. "I couldn't just watch you…"

"I know, Al. Sorry for being a burden." And Ed rubbed Al's helmet, reliving the moment just after Ed had first seen Al's body alive and well. Al remembered Ed's frenzied excitement that Al could be returned to a functioning body:

 _"_ _We'll get our bodies back together, Al!"_

 _"_ _We'll send that bastard Truth to the Hell it deserves!"_

Al found his soul's voice choking, "You searched for my body for so long, Ed. And all I could do was throw your sacrifice away like a selfish child! Compared to what you've endured, I've seen nothing!"

Slap. "Snap out of it, Al! This is both of our faults, but mine for getting you in this situation. Now stand up, and let's get your body back," Ed growled, and turned his steely gaze back onto Truth. "Damn that bastard. Damn Equivalent Exchange!"

Al suddenly wondered – why did Equivalent Exchange have to exist? It provided the basis and fundamental principles of alchemy too – but what about a human being? Could a life be measured by calculations and numbers? Life was special, Al knew that, and perhaps being trapped in that armoured shell was teaching him life's real value.

But enough was enough. He couldn't endure another five years trapped inside the armour. And despite Al being the more mature of the Elric siblings, he sometimes did have to listen to his big brother. They were going to get his body back. Together.

"Mmm," Al murmured and tapped the chest of the armoured body – there should be enough metal to make a weapon if necessary. He couldn't use Ed's automail, it was too light-weight - or he wouldn't be able to walk. Would Al even be able to protect the both of them, being the only wielder of alchemy now?

He stood up and lowered a hand to help Ed to his feet. A voice interrupted his mental planning.

"I wouldn't move any more if I were you, Fullmetal Alchemist," Truth stated, its hand still resting on Al's body. And to Al's horror, he watched Truth's form manifest, like it was bubbling, in front of his eyes. A duplicate form of Truth was separating from the original like a grotesque ooze monster, standing side by side with the original for a moment, and then entered Al's body.

There was a wheeze and intake of air before Al's body jerked to its feet, and stared grinning back at the other Al and Ed. Truth had control of his body…This wasn't happening!

"Goddamn it body…you have to fight this! If any part of you can hear me, please, don't stop fighting," Al took a hesitant step forwards, feeling truly violated. That was his body, his precious body… "Brother, what should we do?"

There was silence from Ed. Al looked around, and saw Ed clutching his legs, one automail and one flesh, with both of his hands. They were shaking. He could see the strain in Ed's eyes, bordering on pain, as he struggled to lift his body off the ground. His face turned a cherry red, and sweat beaded around his forehead; his arm muscles flexed, bearing the weight of his upper body. Everything below his waist however…

It was useless. Ed continued to struggle, but his legs were like dolls, limp and lifeless. Ed's voice shuddered, "I can't feel them, Al…I can't move them…"

"When you sacrificed your body for the toll, Alphonse Elric, that was the exchange for your brother's life," Truth started. "But he suffered injuries during the accident at the Amestrian Games. A rock crushed his spine-"

"No! Don't say anymore! How is this Equivalent Exchange!" Al screamed. He was stuck in his armour, his body inhabited by a stranger, but Ed…

"Your brother is paralyzed, Alphonse Elric. There's nothing that you can do…"

"Of course there is! He has to be able to walk, that's the only way we can move forward together…we have always searched for a way to get our bodies back!"

This was too far; Al's resolve was shaking. He wanted to fall into a deep sleep…this was just a terrible nightmare. He would wake up at the Amestrian Games in that cramped stool. He had only fallen asleep bored watching the sporting events. Winry and May would be cheering. Ed would be receiving his standing ovation from the crowds for his State Alchemist Performance. Just a bad dream.

"You can't take that away from my brother…" Al whispered. And how he wanted to cry, and feel his brother's warm touch, and wake up from that bad dream.

In the armour however, he was robbed of any form of light.

"Al," a voice cut through the air. "Al…"


	4. Chapter 4

Don the Armour

Chapter 4 express delivery for readers! And don't worry, because Truth had better get out of my sight soon, because they are getting a well deserved punch in the face XD

I hope you're enjoying this story, and if you are, please leave me a review ^^ Aside from caffeine, your reviews and favourites make the fuel which keeps me writing, and without that fuel, Ed and Al would remain stuck with that jerk Truth :/ Now we can't have that XD

Thank you everyone for being so supportive and bearing with the angst so far! *shouts thank youuuuuu from miles away*

Again, editing may be in order, but I just had to finish this update!

On that note, enjoy!

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Chapter 4 - Don't Forget Me

"Al…you have to be strong," Ed said tentatively. "We're alive, little brother..."

Al turned around to his brother's prosperous words, his soul's eyes burning bright through the helmet. Was Ed…giving up?

"But you know, Al, I'm not going to pay one more fucking toll, if that's ok with you?" Ed grinned. "You've seen more from inside the portal than I have, so don't let me down now!"

Al released an exasperated sigh. "I know some idiots, Edward Elric, but you're in an elite class of your own. We're falling to pieces here…"

And as Al clapped his hands in front of his chest, energy hummed in the still air as he brought down that energy upon him again. This time, he would remove a fraction of his armour and create a weapon. He knew what he was going to do, and silently, Ed had given him a clue:

 _"You've seen more from inside the portal than I have."_

When he had entered the portal when he was ten, Al had lost his entire body and Truth had inhabited it until he had returned to the reality plane when Ed had given up his alchemy. Even though his soul did not have control over his body, it was still his body. It had nerve cells which worked, receptors which could compute pressure, touch, heat; his body could also feel pain. Al had created a weapon that would make his body feel pain if he landed a light injury.

Ed had given Al the idea.

What if he could cause enough pain so that Truth left his body? If Al could enter his body again…he could help Ed…he didn't know how…there must be a way…science was limitless…

"Exert caution over your actions, Alphonse Elric," Truth said, glowing a sickly white like a ghostly apparition which was walking towards his armoured soul. "Again, you are being reckless, but I know your brother here, now that he is conscious, will not allow you to make another mistake."

"Give my brother more credit, you bastard!" Ed snarled, his teeth jagged-like in his fury. He looked like a wolf protecting its pack. "There's a way, but humankind have to gain that knowledge for themselves!"

"That is no lie, Edward Elric," Truth stated solemnly. "However," he pointed at Al in the armour, "this is the punishment for walking where no mortal should tread.

"You may have defeated your own Truth, but between the pair of you, you have not paid a substantial enough price. Equivalent Exchange has to be maintained. While you have surrendered both your alchemy and left leg, Alphonse Elric has not paid enough. This is merely his price to pay."

"'Merely?' That's his body, dammit! He could die without it – that rotten shell of an armoured body could reject his soul at any moment. How is that an Equivalent Exchange?" Ed sat up to the best of his ability, and Al had to admit, he looked menacing.

"The one who tries to bring his mother back for love loses the ability to feel love at all," Truth smirked. He had walked up to Al, regarded him for a second before moving onto Edward. "Your injuries…well," And Truth beamed at that moment. "They're a coincidence of fate."

Al felt the transmutation he had started creep to the front of his mind. He tapped his gloves lightly against the armour, and willed the metal to move away and form into a weapon. As the dagger materialised in front of him, he silently winced – there would be so much noise and light from the transmutation. However, the transmutation occurred without a sound.

And Ed was distracting Truth for Al. No more.

"DIE BASTARD!" Al yelled, pivoting with a clank of the armour and drew the dagger across Truth's abdomen, and sliced a line across the bastard with his weapon. Al despised the violence, but the sheer human resolve to protect his family overpowered his gentle spirit.

A ring. The weapon clattered to the floor, but the dagger had been wrenched in half. Silence. A laugh.

"You cannot kill me with a blunt tool like that." At that moment the wound Al had inflicted upon Truth healed as ghostly white flesh knitted itself back together. Truth hadn't even faltered; it was inhuman. But they were a God - they were immortal.

"I have my Eye on you, Elric brothers," the Truth inside Al's body whispered, moving Al's body against his accord. Al stepped back to stand guard in front of Ed. Truth's tone had become monotone, serious. This was the end of their bargaining with Truth, Al secretly knew it.

The portal suddenly gaped open, and the Eye of Truth stared back at them as Truth continued, "An Eye that sees the unseen."

Within the portal, Al waited to see the shadowy hands spindle their way out of the dark recesses, which was also the pathway back to reality. However, seconds passed, and Al could see no hands materialise from out of the portal. Suddenly, the morbid reason why nothing had appeared dawned on Al – they would not be going back.

They had chosen to stay. So it was God's decision that they stay here forever.

"You had the choice to leave while you still could. But you chose to remain here," Truth's voice boomed like a resonating tune. Their ghostly apparition had faded away; Al couldn't see their glowing white form any more. "If I could understand emotion, mortals would never cease to amaze me."

The white void itself seemed to be shrinking; Al's Gate looked like it was inching closer to him with every shuddering breath. Time slowed, and halted. But the Gate continued to shift closer… Al's mind was hypnotised – all he could see was the Gate of his doom coming closer and closer…The black was engulfing him in its clutches, closer and closer…

"Oh no you don't!" Al suddenly lost his balance as a hand darted by his ankles, slamming with full force into his legs, and toppled him over. He saw Ed, the hand's owner, rubbing a bruised arm as Al's mind came back into focus. He had snapped out of his trance. Ed rolled his eyes, "Damn it, Al, you had me worried for a second."

The Gate was looming in on them, and the white of the void was changing colour; it was a dull grey. With horror, Al shook his head, understanding that Truth's void was warping from a world of white into one of black.

"What do we do, Brother?" Al said tensely. There was not another way out. Ed was grimacing, trying to rise to his feet with useless legs. He shuddered – he might not be able to feel anything in his legs, but his back must have been painful. And Ed wouldn't ask for help – he possessed too much arrogant pride to even consider such an option. Al would have to offer for him.

"Hold your hands tightly around my neck, Ed. I have an idea." Al only hoped his ludicrous idea worked. It had to. He called out to the hollowness he felt inside of him, the armoured shell he existed within, and pictured the warmth that filled that empty place. That warmth belonged to his original body. His soul and body had to still be connected by a tangle of spirit.

So couldn't Al use his spirit to communicate with his body? It was ridiculous, insane.

 _Body, you have to keep fighting. I need your help._

Al hoisted Ed up onto his back, and used his loincloth as a holder for Ed's legs. Ed mumbled in obvious pain, but clasped his hands around Al's neck and whispered to his brother. "Head straight for the Gate. If that bastard has the nerve to show up, _I'll_ deal with them."

Despite having crippling news delivered to him, Ed was continuing to watch out for his younger brother. Al drew a steady mental breath – he had to have as much faith in Ed. "Ok, Brother."

 _Body, fight against Truth. Repel them. We have to get Ed back through the portal, in any way we can._

Al thought it was hopeless. Telepathy just didn't exist. He rose to his feet and raced for the Gate, closing in on them. It would only take several seconds to reach it. That would take far too long! They were running out of time. The void was turning from a stormy grey colour into a rich black.

"Come on!" Al muttered before he felt a force thud on his helmet. Ed was beginning to fall unconscious on his back. Al needed his hands free – part of the plan required him to transmute to force the Gate open, in case that it closed again. But Ed…

"Hang on there, Ed!" Al quickened his pace and grabbed hold of Ed's flailing arms. No matter what happened, Ed would not fall alone.

But Al's prediction was correct, and the Gate began to close. Slowly, then faster. Al was only metres away now, and in his original body on his own, he could have slipped through. All that this armour proved to be was a hindrance! And he couldn't risk hurling himself into the portal, in case he injured Ed even more.

"Time to surrender, Alphonse Elric," Truth's voice rang like a bell across the now tiny void.

"You're not dragging my soul anywhere, Truth," a voice muttered. And as Al reached the portal, a figure leaped in front of him and _held the portal open on its hinges._ Their back was to him, but their head turned around, and even in the darkness that sweltered in Truth's void, Al would recognise that closely cropped hair anywhere.

"My body! It worked…" Al laughed, a pure note that sounded like a melody. "My idea about telepathy…it really worked!"

"I'll never stop fighting, my soul. You know that." Al's body smiled, and straining, began to push the Gate open.

"Come with us, we can sort it out when we get back to Central…" Al's voice faded into silence from the melancholy expression in his body's golden-green eyes.

"Unfortunately," Al's body spasmed. "I still have the bastard Truth stuck inside of me. I had to take control back though to help my soul and brother! Truth is trying to regain control. Quick, you have to leave now, or they'll be no escape!

"Go."

"How can I? I need to save Brother! I need the knowledge from my portal!" Al refuted.

"Go! There are no answers here. Now go!"

"I can't leave you…"

Al's body had opened the portal more than far enough. His body suddenly leapt back behind Al, and kicked him through the portal. Al clutched hold of Ed, and felt himself falling, being swallowed by oblivion.

They were heading home.

The last thing Al heard was the voice from his body. He didn't know if he heard it out loud or in his head. _"I'll see you soon, my soul. Don't forget me."_


	5. Chapter 5

Don the Armour

We've had so much angst so far, goddamn it Truth. As you can probably tell after reading this chapter, my sense of humour is awful, but I hope it's a nice break from the feels. They'll be back next chapter for sure...Is that a good thing or a bad thing? XD

And no more Truth. Thank goodness for that. XD

Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 5 - Get In The Car

Eternity seemed to slip by for Al as he fell through the portal. All he could hear was Ed's shallow breathing and sense the pressure of his brother's weight against his back. The depth of the portal was a dark place but still the Elric brothers continued to fall. There was no end to the darkness. And so, Al clung to his brother. At least he wasn't alone.

But Al shouldn't have subjected Ed to this. If only he could have been stronger, more determined…like Ed. Al wasn't the Fullmetal Alchemist! He imagined Truth's voice calling him a "foolish, silly boy."

Suddenly, Al's mind lurched and he was blinded by the flash of white in front of him. A second later, he slammed onto the rough earth, entering the reality plane. He and Ed had been coughed and spluttered out by the portal, as if Truth saw them as nothing more than bugs. No, Father had thought that humans were bugs; Truth viewed them as _nothing._

Al tried to move his armour, but his metallic body was rigid. Damn he couldn't even tilt his helmet! It was light around, but all of the shapes were hazy like he was watching a reflection in the water. He deciphered a flash of green and grey…the grass and stadium. And up above, there was only crystal blue – it had to be the sky.

They had made it back home.

Al heard a groan and movement next to him. Ed was alright – only his brother could complain so much about anything and everything. He attempted to form words but his mind was a blur like his vision. It felt like he was dizzy after being spun around for too long.

 _Move you stupid body!_ Al wanted to kick his tin can of a body. He had to make sure everyone else was alright! He knew that Winry was going to cry again…even though she hadn't cried since Ed and he had come home two years ago. May didn't show her emotions as much as Winry, but she would be upset too. They had both supported Al through his endless search for his body…and this was how he had repaid their kindness. By being trapped inside this armour once again.

Surely…they would understand. He had no choice to keep Ed alive. And still Ed was hurt. How could they not hate him for that?

 _Come on, Al! You have to focus on moving. Ed needs to get to a hospital. I must see Doctor Marcoh. He lives in Central now! There has to be something I can do before it's too late._

Al struggled even more. His vision was becoming clearer every second; he could now see the outline of clouds drifting above through the sea of sky and the grass shimmering in the sunlight. He thought of everyone who had guided him this far…they now needed him. He couldn't give up now. With a surge of strength, he willed his body to move and this time, it listened to his soul's requests.

"Brother…" he said like a worried parent (well Al had to do the worrying now for the two parents they had lost). Ed was rolled on his side with his hair tucked around his face and his breathing was light, as though he was simply enjoying a nap in the afternoon sunshine. He didn't look like he was in any severe pain.

"Ed, you have to wake up. We're back," Al said weakly and shook his brother's shoulder with the lightest of touches. Ed stirred, mumbling an indecipherable string of mutters which sounded like "ll grup ate ral", which of course Al could translate to "I'll get up later, Al.", before Ed turned away from Al to resume his sleep.

Sighing, Al reached down and scooped Ed off of the ground so as not to disturb his sleep. He hoisted Ed onto his back and draped Ed's arms so they were positioned around Al's neck. Al then used each of his hands to hold Ed's now useless legs from beneath them. To any onlooker, it looked like Al was giving his brother a piggy back because Ed was too lazy to walk.

 _And Ed might never walk again…_ Al would have slammed a fist to his helmet if his arms weren't already occupied carrying Ed. _Shut up, Alphonse! This isn't the time for self-pity._

Al realized he didn't even know where he was. Of course he wasn't still in Truth's void or trapped in the portal. They were back in reality, but where? Al glanced around, hoping he would be able to see any landmark at all that he would recognise. The first thing he saw was a field of grass, and as he turned on the spot, he watched as the field melded into a deciduous forest, with the trees in full bloom. Al knew this place…

He was standing on a dirt track, and as his gaze followed the track to its origins, he gasped at the half-destroyed house situated on its own in this lonely field. It looked like half of the structure had literally been ripped apart. In truth…it had been by the Homunculus Gluttony. This was the house that had sheltered Lan Fan after she had lost her arm fighting Wrath and they had captured Gluttony. Except that Gluttony had become _exceptionally_ mad and destroyed the house because he had found Lust's killer, the Brigadier General.

Ed, Ling and Envy had been swallowed by Gluttony. Al would never forget that day – he had been afraid he would have been left alone and he would be the only Elric left. Al had been worried that Ed had left him forever.

What troubled Al though was the car parked in front of the clearly abandoned house. What was it doing here? In the distance, Central cropped over the horizon. And there would be the hospital Al was searching for. It was close but not bloody close enough! Mustering up his courage, Al hesitantly clanked towards the house. Ed remained asleep on his back.

"Hello? Is anyone there? I need your help…my brother is severely injured!" There was silence and no reply. It wasn't much of a surprise to Al.

 _Why would they help someone like me, a freak in armour! But still, I have to try for Ed._

"I need your help!" Al called louder this time and his voice rang with more confidence. And this time, Al was rewarded with a cough.

"Kids these days have no manners. Rude and inconsiderate. I thought I would get away from it all by coming here, but these brats seem to multiply like ants. There's no escape from them…" a wheezy voice muttered to themselves. Al recognised that voice, but he couldn't grasp for its owner.

"I need your help…please," Al added. It didn't matter how grouchy this individual was. He still needed their help. "My brother has been injured. We need to get to a hospital right away!"

"You should have said so in the first place!" the voice called back. _I did just tell you..._ Al thought, but he didn't say anything. Emerging from the depths of the house, a figure walked towards Al. He had a half-crumbled cigarette jutting out of his mouth, wearing creased clothing and glasses which evidently needed cleaning. The man stretched as several of his tendons popped happily, and the man shrugged his shoulders loose. He then rubbed his back, "I'm a doctor, you see…"

"Doctor Knox! I'm so glad to see you!" Al rushed up to the doctor and within several breathless paces he had reached a distance where the doctor could see him properly. "You're just the type of person I was looking for. You see…"

But Al paused and considered the situation from Knox's point of view. He would have heard a young man's voice echo from outside of the house, and instead he is paraded by a suit of armour that resembled a hulking giant. Suddenly, feeling shy and bashful, Al backed up and bowed slightly.

"Sorry, doctor. It's Alphonse Elric. You know, the brother of Edward Elric, the Fullmetal Alchemist?"

"Of course I know who you are. Do you take me to be a decrepit old man?" Knox suddenly laughed. "Well, that's exactly what I am. Yet if I remember correctly, didn't you and your brother get your bodies back?"

"Everything happened," Al muttered, his tone bitter, not wanting to reveal his failures to the doctor. Luckily, Knox didn't press for questions and instead tuned his attention to Ed.

"What happened to your brother? I can tell…his legs are slumped awkwardly. His muscles and ligaments are completely out of alignment…" Knox shook his head. "Sorry, I usually get to talk to myself considering all of my patients can't answer back. Essentially, your brother's legs shouldn't be positioned like this." Knox made a gesture to the legs Al was tenderly holding on to.

"There was an accident…in Central at the Amestrian Games. Rock fell from somewhere, and all of the State Alchemists were crushed," Al whispered his voice strained.

Knox's mouth hung open before he regained his composure. "How the bloody hell did you end up here? When did this happen?"

"Alchemy," Al said dryly, thinking of the bastard Truth. "I think about five minutes ago…"

"Why didn't you say so!" Knox growled, and Al yelped. "Get in the car, you blithering idiot. You'll have to drive, and I'll check your brother's vital signs."

"But I can't!" Al faltered and was silenced by Knox's death glare. "I'll try."

Al barely comprehended as he was shoved into the driver's seat before Knox carried Ed to the back of the car. Despite his grizzly appearance, he was gentle, and Al remembered that the doctor was a father too. Al started the engine and after a sharp bark from Knox, he slammed his metal leg on the accelerator.

"Why am I dragged into all of these problems? Can't I just enjoy a peaceful retirement?" Knox said from the back. "Stupid, stupid alchemists…"


	6. Chapter 6

Don the Armour

I'm sorry for the plot twist. I'm really, really sorry... XD And I'm sorry this update is short - part II will be up soon though (and it is a lot longer)!

Ok, to clear up any confusion in the second part of this chapter, Al's soul has become unconscious - he is almost dreaming. Someone captured Al and used a special form of alchemy to make him unconscious. His body comes to him in this "dream" and acts as his conscience. Al's body is in the portal still, but their spirit is still connected, making their telepathy accessible in dreams. What happened to Al will all be revealed next chapter!

With that, let's begin.

Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 6 – Armour Dreams: Part I

"Drive you idiot!" Knox yelled at Al from the back of the car.

Al trembled in his seat and pressed harder on the pedal even though they were accelerating forward through the streets towards the heart of Central already. The roads were oddly desolate; everyone must have been busy watching the Amestrian Games. As if it hadn't been this quiet on the roads, Al was quite sure that they would have been arrested already.

However, Al's attention was only half focused on the roads. He kept checking through the mirror and allowed himself a glance around to the back of the car. Ed still had the expression that he was in a deep sleep, but now he was beginning to mutter to himself. His sleep must have been shrouded with nightmares. Ed's forehead was also starting to bead with sweat. They were running out of time as Ed was slipping back into consciousness. He was becoming more aware of the numbness in his legs, the pain of losing what little he had. And Al had to minimise that shock in any way he could, and the hospital was the only answer. That and their loving friends who wouldn't give Ed the opportunity to mope. Al willed the car to go forward even faster and had a quiet laugh to the wrench that would be awaiting Ed.

No matter what happened, they would never have to suffer through their ordeals alone.

"What part about driving can you not understand?" Knox growled from the back of the car. Al heard the clasp of his briefcase open and the tinkle of medical equipment spilling out of the bag. "I'm giving your brother an injection to induce sleep. It's also an effective painkiller."

"No." Al said before he had the chance to think.

"No? I'm bloody giving him free healthcare here," Knox muttered, but he paused.

"Brother wouldn't like that. When he arrives in Central, he will want to know. He'll want to know what happened to him and if Winry, May and the others are ok…" Al thought of the best person to mention to please Doctor Knox, "including Brigadier General Mustang.

"But still, Brother will want to face this awake. He's stubborn like that. We can't have it any other way," Al finished, and he realized that his voice was choking on the last few words. _He's stubborn like that. We can't have it any other way._ To Al, those words secretly summarized Ed's strength and perseverance that kept Al's hopes alive when they had been searching for the Philosopher's Stone.

Why was he only realizing this now?

He shook his head as he focused his attention back on the road. The bright lights of Central and the looming buildings, once distinct figures in the horizon, now lurked above them. It would be less than five minutes before they passed back through the gates into the main city. The countryside blended around Central was fading too into a network of roads, houses and industrialised areas. But it felt like Central was millennium away and that no matter how fast or far Al travelled, it wasn't coming any closer. Al sometimes was _not_ as patient as everyone assumed. He was more like Ed than he liked to admit at times.

Ed was mumbling quietly in his disjointed sleep. Knox had closed his suitcase without giving Ed the sedative and Al heard the distinctive shuffle of the car seat adjusting to the movement of the doctor. Knox was focusing his attention on Ed's legs now. _There may still be a way to save them. Doctor Knox was able to save Lan Fan's life two years ago…Doctors can perform miracles in medicine. Perhaps he can perform one today._

The car had reached deadly speeds. Faster than it had ever travelled in its life. It was wheezing like it was starting to complain, however Al willed the car to continue at this rocketing pace. Knox had started to whistle to himself as though this routine was normal for him.

Al could pinpoint the stadium, the military headquarters and a little to his left, the hospital. Their outlines were no longer indistinct. They really were going to make it. His empty armour felt like he had butterflies rolling around inside in both anticipation and success.

Until…

A figure had walked into the road. Metres away from Al. There was not time to slow down. Al didn't register the figure. Al didn't have a millisecond to think. He acted.

He swerved the car at full force to his left where there was an empty patch of land. The wheels and gears grinded. The tyres burnt an imprint into the road's concrete. The car skidded in circles fuelled by its unrelenting momentum. Al grabbed Knox by the cuff of his sleeves and Ed's jacket and hauled them out of the car as fast as lightning. He kicked the door off its hinges and leapt out of the door, and soared in the air for a second. Gravity pushed them back to the ground as the three of them thudded on the grassy floor. A second passed.

The car collided into an abandoned building, sirens blaring. But the sirens suddenly stopped, as if someone had forced them to stop… Dazed, Al looked around. He saw Knox stirring and clutch his hand held tightly to head and stooping over to check Ed. They were all alright. Thank goodness.

Or so he thought.

Al heard footsteps behind him. There was suddenly a gigantic force pushing against his back. His armour clattered back to the ground. Darkness infiltrated into his mind. Everything was swimming before his eyes. His vision became blurry. Knox and Ed started to look like puddles, but Ed's wavering form evidently stirred.

"Al!" Al heard Ed's cry. But too late. The darkness had him captive.

* * *

In the armour, it always felt cold...But this was colder than cold. Inside his hollow body, it was freezing...He didn't understand...

Probably just a bad dream.

 _How can this be a dream? You can't even sleep anymore. You made a sacrifice. Remember!_

Who cares? I've been through so much...maybe the cold will be a relief. No more burdens...no more worries.

 _How can you say it? You've been through too much to surrender now!_

Maybe it'll warm up soon. I can just wait for that moment and slip away from this pain...

 _What pain? You know, you know you can't feel anything, you dumbass! Snap out of it!_

What do you mean? Of course I feel pain, like hot and cold. I'm just an ordinary human.

 _Ordinary? Ordinary! You're far from ordinary, alchemist!_

I'm not anything...I just want to sleep...

 _Oh no you don't. I won't let you. I won't leave until you snap out of this! You..._

Me? I don't even know who I am...

 _Don't you remember? Were you shaken up that badly? Well, let me tell you._

Who are you?

 _You know very well who I am. I am you. We are the same. We are two parts making up the one._

I don't understand.

 _That's ok. We all stumble at times. That's why I'm here. But you've got to get up. Do you remember them? Edward...Winry...May..._

I know them! They're my friends...Or I think...How do I know?

 _Because you do. Don't forget them - they don't forget you. Equivalent Exchange. As to whom I am, you will always have a body to lean on. I am here with you._

You...you're my body. How could I forget?

 _Ironic after I told you not to forget_ m _e! And I know you've never forgotten. Sometimes memories become lost. But now you have to find them._

I'm confused...and the darkness is so welcoming. Why won't you let me go?

 _We made a promise that we'll become one again. And I intend to keep it. If you're willing to break it, Alphonse Elric, I'll make you live through every memory and experience you have had hundreds and hundreds of times._

Alphonse? They call me Al too, don't they? Edward...Winry...May...

 _They all love you. Whether you are in the armour or not._

I know what happened...I gave up my body to save Brother! He was so brave and kept fighting...

 _As did you, my noble soul._

You've saved me again. I never knew that a part of me was so brave and fearless.

 _You have always been this way. But you have more trials to face when you "wake up". Don't surrender. Don't forget._

Is Brother hurt? Everyone...I was taken. I was captured! I remember...Truth, Knox, the car, being captured...How could they make me unconscious? Isn't that impossible?

 _No, I'm afraid not. They have found a way to tamper with your soul through a specialised form of alchemy. I don't know anymore than you, but Ed hasn't passed through our Gate. So he's still alive. Still fighting._

Thank goodness... I've got to get out of here! Nobody knows what happened. I can't make Winry and May cry again.

 _The alchemy they performed on you is wearing off. You'll be revived shortly._

Oh no. I'm going to wake up right now.

 _As I knew you would._


	7. Chapter 7

Don the Armour

Look at this - two updates for two stories at once! Well, I had to do something to commemorate the 3rd October :)

This chapter was really interesting to write...I hope Virtue is a mystery. They still are to me! They're creepy too, I agree.

I need sleep now, but before I sign off, thank you for your wonderful support for this story! It makes this useless person's day :D

With that, please enjoy!

 _In honour of 3rd October, there will be another update tomorrow! There will be more brotherly love to come ;)_

* * *

Chapter 7 - Armour Dreams: Part II

He couldn't see even though he wasn't blind. He could hear faintly – the odd flickering of a light – which disrupted the lapses of silence. He could sense what felt like pressure on his back and he knew that he was lying on his back.

But he was assuming things. He still couldn't see. It was like he was trying to drag a weight at the bottom of a lake and knew the effort was futile.

However…he had to try.

Al felt himself coming to. But without his physical body, fainting should have been impossible. According to his body in his dream, a form of alchemy had made it possible. Science granted every hope and dreams a possibility at existing one day. Anything. And that's what made Al tremble inside.

He was being subjected to slipping into unconsciousness like he was an alchemist's toy, a possession to be thrown around to the alchemist's will. Like when the menace Shou Tucker had committed an unspeakable crime against Nina. She had been an innocent, little girl. Powerless against her father's twisted ideology.

But Al had attempted human transmutation. Even if it was to save Ed's life the second time…he had done it. "It" was a taboo. He was an alchemist, the scientist, but Al was in Nina's position this time, a subject to the unknown.

 _Brother…where am I?_

Al somehow felt nauseous; he wanted to let the tension out of his body. He couldn't do that of course in the armour. The imaginary nausea continued to bubble away in his soul. Yet he had never suffered a bout of "sickness" while being a soul in the suit of armour before. How…

How had he regained the faculties of a living body when his body was stuck in the portal?

"Where am I?" Al croaked, his voice ringing weakly and sonorously. There was suddenly another wave of nausea approaching and he literally shook away the feeling. He imagined stretching his control to the metal he was bonded to and willing the armoured limbs to move. But they didn't. Instead he heard the faint clatter of metal bang against the surface below him.

He focused his mind and willpower on moving each steel limb in turn…the arms, the legs. And then the helmet. He tried to open his soul fire eyes – red and cold unlike his golden-green eyes, which were coloured like the warm sunshine – but…

Nothing.

No movement. No jerking response from any part of his armour. Absolutely nothing.

Al's metal back plate trembled. And that was it. A wave of nostalgia surged through his mind; he remembered when he had been in a state like this before. It was when he had collapsed in the snow searching for Winry and the others to warn them about the attack at Briggs. His soul had been tugging back towards his body. Unable to carry Al's heavy armour, they had had to dismantle him and carry him in pieces.

While dismantled, he was defenceless. But that time he had been around friends; they were people he trusted enough to be defenceless around. Al knew that they would have caused him no harm. And even then, he had been uncomfortable about being _completely_ dismantled.

Here, Al was in the same situation, except this time, his friends were still in that bloody stadium. Al was alone, stripped to nothing but his back plate, the rest of the armour removed away from his ability to control them.

In this state, it was like he was showing his vital organs directly to the enemy. His vital part? The blood seal. But he was confused. Nobody had drawn a blood seal. He had chosen to enter the armour on his own accord. With no blood seal, shouldn't he have had total access to the entire of his armour?

There were too many questions he had that remained unanswered. His first priority though was to escape with all of his armour intact. Ed and the others were alive for now…He had been with Al when he had been captured. But he was in danger! What if he had been captured by these crooks as well? What if he was trapped somewhere here too?

Al tried to move his armour. There was no way he could be still now. He heard the faint rattle of his back plate as he struggled to be free of this gripping insanity. Al wasn't going to wait…and he would not stop until he knew that they were safe.

However, a blunt voice whispered in the darkness, a sound as penetrating as a blade, "Struggling are we? It's futile. We have your parts…securely detained."

 _What is going on here?_

Even without his vision, that tone of voice held the hint of menace, like a pudding doped with deadly poison; it possessed a malice which could not be disguised by flowery words. With Al already in the weaker position, knowing that this person held some sort of grudge over Al put him in an even more dangerous situation. One false move…and he could be dead. The only way that he could gain information was to be subtle. And to do that, Al would have to lie. He was a confused, bewildered young adult suffering from short-term amnesia. He wanted to go home and find his brother. He didn't know that he had been reduced to a soul in a suit of armour.

That was the advantage of battling a stranger; they thought that they knew his weakness, but in turn, they did not know of Al's strengths. And he did not understand the Hell that Al had endured as an Elric brother, and that strength would be his greatest asset to escape. He had survived so far through his grit and determination. Little did the stranger know that Al's moral resolve was amplified when _any_ of his friends or family were hurt.

And he wouldn't let another person become a victim to any of his weaknesses.

Al quashed his fortitude and started to play the innocent victim of amnesia. He started to pretend he was a clueless boy lost. So Al vouched for a hesitant, shaky reply, "What am I doing here? What have you done to me?"

"Hmm. So is amnesia a possible side effect?" the voice tuned out into a private muttering. As Al had assumed, he must have been tested on in some way. Little did his captor know that Al would piece together the information he had been given like a puzzle to solve, and with that he would find a way to escape. Now he had to wheedle out more information.

"Side effect? There's nothing wrong with me…is there?" Al moped, almost whining. And boy, he sounded convincing.

"Apart from your soul being bonded to solid iron…nothing out of the ordinary," came the sarcastic reply of Al's captor. The stranger didn't speak again. Obviously, they were not going to fall for Al's tricks of being the whinging child. Al would have to change his strategy and instead face this stranger as an intellectual equal.

"What have you done to me and my brother," Al demanded firmly, every hint of his authority ringing in his voice. He had not asked a question.

"That's more like the vivacious spirit I was looking for!" the stranger said cheerfully. There was the distinctive flutter of paper and scribbling of a pen gliding across the paper's surface like a swan landing on water. It was the obvious sound of a scientist recording their observation. "Some say you are the opposite of your brother…you almost negate your brother's temper with your level-headedness. In essence, you contrast each other perfectly. I, on the other hand, and others say that you are very similar to your brother. Your determination, bravery and diligence are a credit to you both. You have the spirits of a legend…"

Al would not receive the compliment and be subjected to their flattery. "Where is my brother."

"Not here. Safe and well."

"How can I believe you?" this was frustrating. Al focused on trying to control his tone.

"You should be able to tell that I am not lying. Alchemists search for the truth in this world. Surely you should be able to detect a lie from a mere mortal like myself…" The voice was evidently surprised.

"Who are these 'others'? At least I know that you're not in league with any Homunculus," Al said bitterly. The captor had referred to these "others" like they were scientists – and if Al was certain of anything, it was that the Homunculi were _not_ scientists.

Suddenly, Al's vision flashed a brilliant white and a whole series of distorted colours spun in front of him. His sight was returning. It was strange seeing the world from this angle; he wasn't seeing from his helmet's point of view, but from the point of view where his blood seal was positioned. But he didn't have a blood seal…

Too many questions!

However, the stranger's patience was wavering; Al could hear them beginning to pace across the room. Al had to orientate his armoured body and fast.

"Clever alchemist. I'm far too ordinary to be of any notice. Becomes a problem actually…" but the stranger stopped before they delved any deeper into their personal secrets, like a thief unwilling to share their golden treasure. Secrets were gold in the shadow world after all. "I'm just interested in how this hollow body of yours works."

Al thought fondly about Greed and his chimera recruits trying to obtain the same information in the alleyways of Dublith. "Someone has already tried that, I'm afraid. I couldn't share any information on that." Al refrained from mentioning Ed. He wouldn't drag his brother into this. Al had to hurry up and get out of here; Ed would be worried sick. And his brother had enough to deal with at this time…he couldn't run anywhere to get help or use alchemy to fire a signal…

He had gained paralysis as Al had lost his body. The Law of Conservation. Gain and loose. Bugger that.

Al had just lost his body…even if he had become unconscious, not enough time had passed for that to become widespread knowledge. So how had that stranger known about that? "How did you know about my body? It couldn't have been more than an hour since I lost my body…"

 _And already he has saved my life and Ed's twice._

"I know many things, Alphonse Elric."

"Knowing my name is a bonus, but I'm afraid that by being with a famous ass like my brother, my name is fairly well-known," Al said waspishly. His tolerance was slipping.

"Some would call that sassiness, Alphonse. But I want information. You're going to be stuck in that form until you provide me with the details that I am requesting. I'll ask again: how does this body of yours work?" The voice cut into the shadows like steel. Al felt exposed to that imaginary blade of a voice, like it could manipulate him if it so pleased. He had to be wary and remain on his guard.

"I don't know all of the Truth," answered Al honestly. Spirals of colour were swirling in front of him; they were gradually gaining definition, layer and clarity.

"Truth? Are you referring to the portal of Truth when you say that?" Al suddenly saw a figure striding up to him. He couldn't define their facial features in the looming darkness, but they had long silvery-blond hair which trailed down their back. They were skinny, with bones protruding from every direction beneath the shabby trousers and boots. However, they were wearing a lab coat, which was in impeccable condition. They were carrying a clipboard and pen around. Al had to praise them on their attempts to enact the perfect mad scientist.

But they were illusive, lingering in the darkness as though they were allies, and they seemed to resemble a skeleton more so than they did a human.

"How do you know about the portal? I can count on my fingers how many people have passed through the portal alive…" Al's words faltered, as the figure left the shadows. Al could see their face.

"They call us Virtue. We were a man and woman. We wanted to achieve perfection. Truth laughed at us, and our punishment was to gain what we alchemists believe to be a complete, or perfect, lifeform. The Hermaphrodite. Two became One. Truth gave us this perfect form in our idle search for perfection as our toll for treading where no mortal should tread."

Al gasped. Virtue had the prominent jawline and cheekbones of a man, but soft, rounded eyes and mouth of a woman. Their eyes were a lamp-less grey, as though they were a ghost, devoid of warmth.

"And now we want our revenge."


	8. Chapter 8

Don the Armour

Here it is - Chapter 8! My heart is swimming - this was just too cute to write XD

Next chapter we'll be back at the stadium and the rest of the FMA cast will return! This is going to be heartbreaking, isn't it?

Anyway, special thanks to attackoneverything and wecanflyawaytoGallifrey (the system doesn't like the dots!) for their many reviews :D Also thanks to ImpossibleJedi4, lilaclily00, That Gal and AvaniAcrux for their reviews :)

Feeling in a writing mood this week, so there may yet be another update. May...

With that, please enjoy!

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Chapter 8 – Never Far Behind

Virtue was driven by their despair. A haunted look plagued their eyes, as if they weren't in that dark room at all, but reliving the memory of passing through the portal. Al knew the feeling – it would be the last thoughts in his mind before the new day started and the clock would chime midnight. He remembered the sleepless nights while Ed was ambushed by nightmares in his dreams, while Al had had to face his own demons conscious and awake.

And he remembered Truth laughing as his ten-year old self had plunged through the portal, and his body was unravelled and sacrificed for the toll of gaining the knowledge of God. He had reached out for a hand, which he had thought would be his mother's warmth he had wanted to feel for so long, and it was his own hand he was clutching, as Truth had taken away his body.

He could understand how Virtue felt. That deeply residing compassion, one of the traits that Alphonse Elric was commended for, was arising.

"I understand how you feel, Virtue," Al whispered. "I had my whole body – my whole existence – broken apart. If it wasn't for my brother, I would have died on the 3rd October."

There was no answer from Al's captor. A husky voice spoke from Virtue's lips, but they were tinged with bitterness, like the bitterness they felt towards Truth and the World. "I take it that was the day you performed human transmutation."

"Yes. It was the day I will never forget," Al said thoughtfully. He had stopped struggling. He didn't have to escape from the enemy, because Virtue was no enemy. There was only one enemy that Al was battling right now. God.

"I can't remember the date. It was sometime in spring. I remember the trees beginning to bud when we had perfected our human transmutation circle. And it was robbed away from us, all of it. We want to regain our original bodies, but our portals merged…the physics and chemistry…the laws weigh against us. There is no possible way that we can return to normal." Virtue, a man and woman with the same dreams and ambitions, were given the body of perfection they had wanted, but in a way they had never expected.

"I was angry too at the madness and cruelty of Truth…But it was Brother and I's mistake. I can justify what I did, but never what Truth took away from me. The day will come soon when we can _both_ defeat Truth and we can _both_ get our bodies back. No automail, no armour, no paralysis. If I can defeat Truth with what little strength I have…that is why I had to don the armour. I have to defeat Truth to protect my brother, as he is always protecting me…"

Al let his soul eyes close and he imagined Ed's scruffy braid in the morning as he rubbed at his automail. Al would chide Ed to tuck his top in and tie his braid neater. Ed would roll his eyes, but when he thought that Al wasn't looking, he would do what Al had said. They would leave the hotel room with Ed in the lead, and he would grin and turn back to Al. "Today is the day, Al!" He had said that every morning for five years.

"But don't think it's impossible. There is always a way. It's those who surrender who won't get their bodies back. You passed through the portal and survived, so you are more than strong enough to regain what you have lost," Al concluded. He felt his own strength returning.

 _Crash._ "Move that way, you dumbass!"

 _Crash!_ "That's not the door, you idiot! What senseless directions are you giving me?"

 _CRASH._ "I'm not going to shut up until I get to my brother! Hurry up Doctor Knox! How did you qualify to be a military doctor in the first place?"

 _Thud._ "There's the door. Now could you kids do something useful and open it for me?"

 _THUD._ "Who are you calling a kid who can be lifted up with a pinkie finger?!"

 _Split._ The door literally cleaved into two. In stormed a hastily puffing Doctor Knox, who had his arms wrapped around the legs that belonged to his brother. Ed had removed his belt and tied it around his ankles, so Knox could support them by holding the belt suspended in the middle, leaving Ed's arms free to open doors and point out what he presumed to be the right direction.

An hour ago, or however long Al had remained unconscious for, Ed had been clammy, unconscious, and like he was living within a nightmare, and was so pale he looked like an incorporeal being. Now his face flashed with colour, his golden eyes bright and alive, his braid abandoned so his blond hair spiralled down his back, and Al could see firm muscles flexing beneath Ed's red coat, which he was still wearing too.

"Ed!" Al called, wondering if he was still dreaming.

"I'm never far behind, Al," Ed shook his head and shrugged his shoulders, almost tenderly before sharpening his voice, directing it to Doctor Knox. "Hey, can you get me down from here!"

Knox's eyes widened in surprise, "What the hell are you going to do in your state, kid?"

Ed's voice was ice. "I. Am. Not. A. Little. Kid. And don't you dare call me short too…Now let me go!" Ed then grabbed for the belt connecting his legs together and yanked it off.

"Where is Virtue? Where are they?" Al gasped, realizing that the mysterious figure had just vanished when Knox and Ed had entered the room. He struggled to rise to his feet before realizing that he couldn't. It was like he was trying to swim against a merciless, powerful current.

"Ed. The person who captured me…they're called Virtue. They were able to inflict an unknown branch of alchemy upon me, which made my entire soul unconscious…"

In the past, anybody who threatened Al would face the elder Elric brother's wrath. Ed would storm upon them like an unquenchable fire until they begged for mercy for threatening to hurt Al. However, Ed did not heed Al's warning, and instead struggled with his upper body to lower himself from Knox's back. Ed leaned forward and picked some unidentifiable object up, which shone like silver light, because it was close to silver…a metallic, shining gauntlet from Al's armour. The armour had clearly not been securely detained. Ed did not speak as he continued to pick up each piece of armour carefully, cradling the pieces in his arms like they held a precious and fragile life. As he placed each piece on the table Al was on, he clenched his right hand gently. It was too subtle for Doctor Knox to notice, was busy examining the room and moving between the two tables so Ed could move the armour closer to Al, but Al noticed.

The right hand which Al had given back to Ed in exchange for returning to his original body. It seemed a small price that he had paid.

Ed then lifted himself deftly from Knox's shoulders and positioned himself at the end of the table where Al was laying. He took the chest plate and moved closer to Al until Al could see his face directly above his back plate. Ed fastened the straps with care and moved to attach each leg in turn. Al remained frozen, watching the studious approach Ed took, his eyes in a cool focus as he worked to almost rehabilitate Al.

"I want to check the next room, and see where that person may have run away to. I won't be long," Knox muttered, obviously trying to allow Al some privacy to talk with Ed. Knox felt awkward in too many situations, even when receiving praise. Pride? None of that mattered…They were both safe.

 _Brother…_

"Why can you never worry about yourself, Brother?" Al sighed at his useless sibling just as he felt his soul's touch spreading to his right arm. And finally, Al saw Ed moving to reach for the helmet, and his vision flickered as it shifted from his chest's point of view to his helmets. He moved it from side to side and lifted each section of the armour in turn. He wasn't back to normal, but at the moment, it was normal enough.

"I have more important things to worry about, Al. You know that," Ed wiped his forehead and pulled the hair out of his face, perching on the edge of the table as Al straightened up to sit beside him.

"What about Virtue? If it had been Greed, you would have chased after him..." Al muttered, remembering fondly how zealous his brother could have been.

"I was never like that!" Ed protested, his hands flying into the air. "That Virtue must have done strange things to your mind to make you think such a thought!"

"But still, Brother…You could have gained information from my captor…" Al reached out to Ed, wishing that his touch could bring life back into those legs, so he didn't have to rely on anyone to be taken anywhere.

"The others are waiting for us. Let's go now, Al," Al longed to roll his eyes as Ed scrambled onto Al's back, so it looked like he was taking a piggy back ride. At that moment, Ed pulled something from his jacket. "Plus, I have _this._ "

Ed had picked up a wallet, which must have belonged to Virtue. Al wanted to smack Ed around the head for his cockiness.

Genius. Ed was right – he was never far behind. He had taken the next step ahead already.


	9. Chapter 9

Don the Armour

Hey! The internet has been extremely temperamental this past week, so I'm taking this opportunity to update this story when it will let me. What else has happened this week? Oh, Animal Crossing has ruined my life XD

I need to pay off my mortgage (an AC reference for those of you unfamiliar with the game!) so I'll sign off here. Enjoy as always.

Until next time!

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Chapter 9 - Brothers of Blood, Brothers of Soul

"You know, Brother. Sometimes I think you enjoy tormenting me," Al sighed as he carried Ed on his back out of the building. Al could still see the looming buildings of Central, and in the distance there was the evident rise in smoke, where Knox's car must have fallen over. Virtue had the appearance of a cunning individual, but in reality, Al wondered if they really were just a jealous dreamer. But the alchemy they had performed on him…Al was vulnerable with that attack, as it had the potential to render him unconscious.

Had Virtue really attacked him? Why had they captured Al and placed him a location that even his paralyzed brother could reach, even if he was being carried by a grouchy doctor?

Al buried the thoughts as sunshine shimmered from the blue skies above as they treaded out of the compact building. The sun was sloping across the horizon, and as the afternoon waned on towards sunset, there was not a cloud to paint the sky's aqua canvas. It had only been several hours since the incident, and already it felt like a dream.

And he was back inside the armour, like reality had flipped and dragged him back to two years in the past. Al sensed a finger poking his helmet, and raised a glove and flicked the hand away like an irritating fly. Ed was trying to catch Al's attention as the younger brother slipped in and out of his silent reverie.

"I hope you're not moping, Al," Ed said in a barely audible tone. There wasn't a breeze to lift his words, and so they fell hollow upon Al's armour. Was it that obvious? Al hated to admit it…but he was moping.

"You should be the one moping, Brother," Al said as he turned towards the sunset, where Central City lay like an undiscovered golden gem, and only the beauty of the Sun could unveil the rock to reveal the jewel.

"I'm not giving the bastard Truth any hope of victory!" Ed shouted, as though he hoped God to hear him. "You're not moping, Al. You're ruminating, like the clouds. Clouds ruminate in the sky all day in a mass of confusion, and this makes then become agitated, and when they become furious, thunder and lightning rip through the sky. The rain is when they weep. It's only when they stop ruminating that they can see the sun again. You have to search for that sky, Al. That's where our road ends."

"I never knew that an alchemist like you could be so poetic, Brother," Al reflected thoughtfully. His brother's words had resonated inside of his soul's heart – they were beautiful.

"I have my ways, Al," Ed then motioned with a hand of Doctor Knox coming out of the back of the building, carrying several bundles of folders with him.

"Are you ditherers finished yet? I think I found some medical history I can work on, and we can work out who that bloody perpetrator was…" Knox rambled off as Ed grinned once again, rivalling a smile with Truth and held up the wallet revealing Virtue's identity. Knox's unlit cigarette fell out of his mouth and landed unceremoniously upon the floor. He huffed and stormed away from the brothers until he reached the road and stuck out a hand, ushering down a taxi.

Ed and Al only laughed before Al jogged up to pat the Doctor on the shoulder, commending him for his valued efforts. Ed whistled a bedtime lullaby while they waited to be delivered into the city, where everyone was waiting.

* * *

After flagging down a taxi driver who had turned his radio off and therefore knew nothing about the events at the Amestrian games, Knox shuffled into the front of the car while Ed and Al were crammed into the back. Al tried to squeeze his frame as much as possible, but with only metal and no muscle to narrow his size, this failed drastically.

The driver had been travelling after a call to East City early that morning and was now sluggishly finishing the last stretch of his journey back to Central. Both Knox and Ed hissed at the driver, who drove into the city far beyond the ordinary safe limit. However, Al wasn't driving and so he was content in that sense. A nervous agitation was itching inside of his soul though – he was going to see May, Winry, the General, everyone. He hoped that they weren't hurt.

Sunset arrived as they streamed past the houses and drove around endless corners and roads until Al spotted the first car of the military police. And then he saw another….and another…But all of the cars were oddly abandoned. There wasn't an ambulance in sight.

Al shoved a hand into Virtue's wallet and placed a wad of notes into the terrified taxi driver's hand, and apologised for Ed and the doctor's rash behaviour. His limbs somehow ached, and his armour clattered like he was literally shedding his nerves. Once Ed had resumed his position on Al's back, there was no reason to linger.

They headed straight into the stadium's heart.

It was silent. No breeze stirred. No birds chirped at the crumbs scattered by the thousands of spectators who would have been watching the events, their greatest concerns being if their country's athletes were going to win a race, or at least place for medal position. As opposed to the atmosphere being sucked of colour, the opposite seemed to apply; the air was stifling, and it was like colour had been drenched into the world.

Everything they passed had adopted a bright and unnatural hue to it, and Al wanted to blot out the colour because it was almost making him feel nauseous. Al didn't notice where his feet were leading him; he aimlessly followed in Knox's unfaltering footsteps.

"The others will be alright, Al. Just you wait…"

"I know, Brother. They're the strongest people we know alive." An image of everyone he loved flashed before his mind's eye.

 _Be alive. Be alive. Be alive!_

The stadium flashed into Al's vision. There were people in the stands, the sunset illuminating their lengthening shadows and a hush had transcended over the air. But in the centre of the stadium…there were no rocks from the accident, like they had vanished. It was like nothing had happened…

Al looked in one direction to the other, his nerves at their peak. _Where are they? WHERE ARE THEY?_

 _Please…be alive._

"Ed! Al! You dummies!" Winry cried as she raced forwards and hugged both of the brothers with her arms, tears gushing down her face. Nothing mattered. The fear faded. Their friends were alive. They had returned "home" – wasn't home just the name for the place where your friends were?

 _We made her cry again, Brother. We really are dummies, aren't we?_

She looked up at them with her aquamarine eyes, and her gaze was one of pure relief. At that moment, she didn't care about the armour, or Truth, or any of the hell they had all endured today. The Elrics were alive. That was all that mattered.

Al heard the faint scamper of paw prints on the ground and a black and white streak leapt up to Al's shoulder. A second later, May pressed into Al's side, her eyes clamped firmly shut, but she wasn't crying. She buried her head into Al's chest. She was murmuring something, but it was so quiet, Al wasn't certain if he was imagining May's words.

"Th…yo…" Was May saying thank you to him?

There was the sound of footsteps and President Grumman stood in his ultramarine uniform, looking wary and dusty, but still the same. His steely eyes turned to face Al's, who was still buried in a mass of hugging forms. "You saved them. Your quick reaction and resulting transmutation saved them. As soon as the rocks fell on the State Alchemists, you were the first to reach them. I know you were main focus was to save the Fullmetal Alchemist, but your alchemic force was so powerful, Alphonse. You obliterated the rocks into dust. One second you were transmuting a seemingly endless array of rocks, and the next they had vanished, as did you and your brother. You saved their lives. There are injuries, but nobody died.

"Those who were not injured chose to wait. We had to after all, since this was the least that we could do to repay you for our lives. You saved us once on the Promised Day, and now you have saved us at the Amestrian Games. We are in your debt again, Elric brothers."

Al finally noticed the people huddled in the stalls around the stadium. They stood up, and a single pair of hands started to clap. Two pairs, three pairs. The sound soon reached a symphony and crescendo as a thousand pairs of hands clapped in synchronisation, the beat of a solemn melody, the unspoken "thank you".

Ed clapped directly afterwards when people had started to shuffle out of the stadium now that the Games had been postponed, "You were right, Al. I really do enjoy tormenting my little brother."

"We have to go to the military hospital…" Al looked around at Ed, who shook his head is frustration. So Ed didn't want Al to tell them just yet. Winry and May had barely had enough time to comprehend what had happened to Al.

But it seemed that through speaking, Al had caught their attention. Winry stepped back and rubbed her eyes hastily, disguising badly the tears which had smothered her face a moment ago. May however clung tighter to Al and the sobs started to sound from her petite frame. "You lost it again, Al…"

"Why can you never worry about yourselves, Edward and Alphonse Elric?" The question Al had asked Ed; the brothers were more similar in ways they didn't understand. Winry hiccoughed into her sleeve, and without a trace of doubt, she stared at the brothers again, her eyes brimming once again with tears. "I love you two. Don't make us so worried ever again!"

Ed stiffened and Al started to snicker. He couldn't help it. "By 'love' Winry, what do you mean…"

The wrench was thrown at Al's helmet before he could also hear May shouting at him for being a "heartless fool".

 _They always come first, Brother. That's like our unspoken promise to each other. But I'll watch out for you as well, Ed. For eternity._


	10. Chapter 10

Don the Armour

I'm determined to update all that I can this weekend. The fields are filled with plot bunnies, and I'm not going to miss this rare opportunity to catch all of the ideas as I can XD

Plus, I hope this reference to Greek mythology is acceptable!

Enjoy!

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Chapter 10 - Lies and Truths

The Amestrian Games had been postponed. It had been announced on the crackling radio just under an hour ago. The only explanation that Grumman could give was a "freak accident", and until checks could be assured that the stadium was safe, then the building would have to remain abandoned. An atmosphere so full of life in the morning had been silenced by sunset – it wasn't right or fair.

Those people had been enjoying a day out with their families, and others had travelled through countries to reach Central in Amestris; for some it was a holiday. And that had been snatched away from them.

Al knew it could not have been a freak accident. The rocks had fallen almost out of nowhere at exactly the right time, when the State Alchemists had been performing. And to Al, there was only so much that could be explained by chance. He had returned to a dark hallway in the hospital while Ed had been admitted for tests, and in that barren hallway, he was sitting opposite two mirrors, one of which he had smashed when Barry the Chopper had made Al question his own existence for being nothing more than a soul stripped in a suit of armour.

The mirror had since been replaced, and the hallway had had a fresh coat of paint issued to it. However, the hallway remained the same from when Al had last been here; some things remained untouched by the powers of time. Al felt like he was back three years ago when he had been sitting here in denial about his own life being real. It was similar to what he was thinking now - no time had passed.

His armour disguised any signs of ageing; he could have been twelve or seventeen, like he was frozen at that age much like a ghost clad in steel. Sitting there, powerless to help his brother as the doctors saw to him, Al wasn't even allowed to be with his brother at the moment. He had no choice but to wait until medicine performed its miracles.

But all the time in the world had passed too. Both he and Ed had matured and travelled to new places, meeting wonderful people which they had not imagined all of those years ago when they had burnt their family house down to pursue a legend. They had believed they could rely on nobody else and when the Promised Day finally dawned upon them, they had an army of friends they could trust to watch their backs.

Al could hear footsteps walking across the corridor up ahead. He stood up and clanked over to the mirror which he rested a hand on. But this time the glass didn't crack, and Al walked away from that memory in the past. The waiting had not been long, but it still made Al slip into the recess of memory. At least it was over.

However, as Al turned the corner, he realized that the footsteps were of a nurse he didn't recognise. He thought someone had come to tell him that Ed's examination had been completed, but evidently, that was not the case. Al would not tolerate being left in the dark, clueless, for another minute. "My brother, Edward Elric, the Fullmetal Alchemist had been admitted here. By any chance would you know where he is?"

"The doctor is seeing him at the moment just along this corridor. Let me show you the way…" the nurse had her hands full of medicine for other patients. Al brushed away her offer and advanced down the corridor until over halfway along, he heard a heated conversation coming from within one of the rooms.

"You have to wear that, Sir." The voice was adamant and stern, attempting to issue an order that she could not give. It must have been Hawkeye. And sure enough, the stubborn reply which came confirmed Al's thoughts: Brigadier General Mustang was at the hospital too.

"I must get back to the office. As an ambassador to Ishval, I have to ensure that their people are well," Mustang said. Al heard the creaking of a bed frame, like Mustang was trying to rise from bed and then the bed creaked again. Al imagined the Lieutenant pushing him back onto the bed.

"You need to wear this sling, Sir. How do you expect to write or drive when you have sprained your right hand?" Hawkeye sighed, her voice on the brink of sassiness, but she kept her tone veiled with her formal approach.

"It's a sprain. There are far worse injuries here, Lieutenant," Mustang refuted, and with that the bed creaked once again as Mustang must have risen to his seat. "And Alphonse, please come in."

How did he know that Al was here? Al took the door handle into his gloves and pulled it downwards. The top half of this door was made of glass, so Al's shadow would have been visible from the inside. That made sense.

Brigadier General Mustang still had his uniform on, and his right hand was hastily fastened into a sling. His arms were lined with scratches and several bruises, but none of them were major injuries, and he waved a hand in greeting at Al while Hawkeye nodded at Al and said a quiet "Hello, Alphonse".

They acted as if nothing had happened, as if Al had never lost his body. Both superior and subordinate saw him as Alphonse Elric, no matter what his appearance may have been. Al respected their unspoken modesty. Mustang shrugged the sling into the correct position, straightened his uniform with his left hand and proceeded to discharge himself from the hospital. His injuries were ranked low on his list of current priorities.

With that, they stood up. Both of them had forgotten about their own needs because they headed towards the door past Al as soon as they had greeted him. "We're going to see, Fullmetal. Are you coming?"

"Yes, Sir!" Al chirped and followed after the military members towards his brother. By unspoken consent, both the General and Lieutenant slowed their pace to allow Al to walk in front of them, and they had reached the hospital room with the name "Edward Elric" scribbled onto its whiteboard.

Al suddenly thought of May and Winry and wondered where they were. They had been in different cars being brought to the hospital (since Al's armour made him take up the seat of two, if not three people). Ed hadn't told them directly yet about his paralysis, nor had he told the General and the Lieutenant. How were they going to react? Were they going to blame Al?

Suddenly, the door opened to Ed's room. A doctor with a medical kit and clipboard was leaving. He held out a hand to Al without a trace of fear or uncertainty to Al's form.

"Doctor Chiron. Your brother told me about your situation," he nodded his head as he clasped Al's outstretched glove.

 _But Ed wouldn't share details on our situation so easily! If Ed thinks he's trustworthy, I'll be amicable._ "Alphonse. Ed… is he?"

"As lively as the stories say he is. But I mustn't digress, since he wants to see you," the doctor bowed slightly to Mustang and Hawkeye before departing. Al liked the man. He had informed Al that Ed's situation had not changed, but he was stable, and he had figured something out if he wanted to see Al straight away.

"Al? I can hear you out there! Hurry up," Ed called from inside of the room. Al flinched and rushed into the room before he faced the impatient temper of his brother. Ed was sitting up in a chair, a hospital tray next to him on a table, where he was devouring a loaf of bread. The milk lay abandoned, of course, but there would be time for Al to chastise Ed later on. Ed appeared to be sitting on a seat with his legs dangling over the side – nobody would suspect that he was paralyzed. He propped himself further up and swallowed the last bite of bread, enthusiastic to see his brother, but a scowl wore over his features when he saw the people that had accompanied Al. "Oh, it's _you._ "

"Just the welcome I expected, Fullmetal," the General snorted and sat himself on the other occupant chair. "Cover for me, Hawkeye." The Lieutenant blinked warmly at Ed before saluting her superior officer, and headed out of the room to stand guard by the door, because Al could see her shadow behind the glass. "Now we won't be disturbed. That wasn't an accident, Fullmetal at the stadium. I want to find out everything that happened."

Ed sighed and pulled a hand into his back pocket where he threw the wallet over to Mustang. The General lifted an agile left hand to catch the object, a smug expression worn over his face, and that caused Ed's features to be buried further into a scowl. "Ass."

"I expect to be called nothing less by an irritating child…" Mustang shrugged and reached out for a slice of fruit on Ed's plate.

"Who are you calling a little boy too small to come up with insults!?" Ed roared, his hands furled into fists.

However, Roy Mustang's eyes widened in evident surprise, as if he had confirmed a secret suspicion lurking within his mind. "When you get mad at me, Fullmetal, your legs always kick out in frustration…You can't feel them, can you?"

Blunt, like a knife slicing through the air.

Ed's eyes could have been burning with anger at the General before he diverted his gaze and reached sullenly over for the milk. He was about to open the carton when Al was acting without thinking; he took the carton out of Ed's grasp and hurled it into the bin situated in the corner of the hospital suite. The action seemed to lull his older brother as Ed's fists unclenched and he breathed in deeply, regaining his composure. "Sorry, Al." He looked up at Mustang again. "Blame the Bastard."

Mustang nodded, knowing all too well who Ed was referring to, having met this individual two years before when he had been forced to open the Gate.

"Al unknowingly performed human transmutation. There was a rebound of alchemic energy after the both of you were taken to the portal. The rocks would have suffocated us if we had been under them after another few seconds. Your transmutation disintegrated them," Mustang spoke first to Ed and then turned to Al at the end. He held up Virtue's wallet, and whirled it around in his fingers, a reflection of nostalgia brimming in his eyes. "If only we had Hughes here. He would have cracked this mystery already."

"We're in agreement then. This wasn't a freak accident," Ed's voice lowered to a whisper.

"It was timed perfectly, when all of the State Alchemists were the closest they could be together, like a sheep in a flock. They had targeted us long before the Games started," the General handed the wallet over to him. Al peered at closely. There were several Cenz in one of the pouches, but no other form of cash. There was no ID with the wallet either, but as Al's soul eyes squinted, he picked a faint outline etched into the leather…initials? _M.A._

"Virtue was both a man and a woman before they performed human transmutation. Perhaps these are the initials of who they once were?" Al suggested, but Mustang's eyes were wide with shock. Ed rolled his eyes and briefed the General about Al's little shenanigans. Ed made Al sound like a naughty child and Al had to focus his mind to stop himself from fuming.

"Brother…" Al said bitterly but he composed himself, "We have a lead, General. Virtue seemed to be directed by their ambitions, but as they knew about me losing my body, it's as if they had predicted what I would do when the rocks fell in the stadium. They captured me after barely an hour of me losing my body. Only Doctor Knox knew about that. There was no way the news could have travelled fast enough for Virtue to plan this."

The room diffused into silence as each member in it lingered in deep thought. Al had a lead, but he was so confused. He had to break everything down into stages and make sense of this. He had to find out who had tried to hurt Ed and the others. And his body was waiting for him on the other side of the Doorway.

Truth had taken his body in order to save Ed's life. In the process, he had poured some of his own spirit into his brother to keep Ed alive. Ed's injuries caused him to become paralyzed, and Al's toll had not been great enough to cure this. Al's own body and soul were connected by too small a spirit and he had to surrender his body to Truth. Truth had prepared the armour for him. But nobody had performed a transmutation to bind Al's soul to the armour!

How had Al entered the armour? An alchemist _had_ to have transmuted his soul into the armour. It couldn't have been Virtue, because they wanted the knowledge of soul transmutation; they didn't _possess_ that knowledge to transmute Al's soul into the armour. But someone had.

Had this attack been orchestrated so someone could transmute Al's soul into the armour? Why would they want to demobilise Ed?

Of course. Take Edward Elric out of the equation, and Alphonse Elric would be vulnerable to an attack.

They needed answers. Al wouldn't rest until they found them.

There was a sharp cry from outside. " _OUCH!"_

 _"Shh, they'll find out we're here, dummy!"_

The two voices fell back into silence, but Al walked over to the open window and looked down over the railing. May and Winry were huddled in balls, caught guilty in the act of eavesdropping. However, they didn't look guilty at all – their eyes were fuelled with an unspoken passion. They slipped through the window to the hospital room and whispered thanks to the General.

"Wait, this was all planned!?" Ed shouted.

"We had to know what was going on. And we wouldn't let you mollify everything for us. We wouldn't have lies when we could have the truth. You would be bluntly honest to the General, so he agreed to keep our presence a secret," Winry said.

"We're going to help you in any way we can. And you can't stop us!" May added, obviously chuffed with her spy work.

"Why, General?" Ed whined, shaking his head in annoyance.

"I have to keep on the good side of the women, Fullmetal."

"YOU PERVERT!"


	11. Chapter 11

Don the Armour

First of all, thank you for the reviews and reads! :D

In case of any confusion to the supposedly random title, a description of the chapter title has been included at the end of the chapter :)

Please enjoy and I'll see you with the next update!

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Chapter 11 - Out of the Blue

 _"I won't be here to see you for the next couple of days, Ed. I have a project that needs finishing. Don't worry though; I'll bring in some apple pie for you tomorrow morning!"_

 _"What are you up to now, Winry…"_

 _"Working. I have a job and a name to maintain! Even if you try and keep me trapped here with these endless visits, you won't tarnish the Rockbell name."_

 _"Where did you get that idea from? You're acting strangely, Win…"_

 _"Of course I am to you, dummy. You don't know how to define normal. It's ok, while you_ are _hopeless, I won't abandon you. But who would want to be an alchemy freak anyway?"_

 _"WHO ARE YOU CALLING-"_

 _"Take care, Ed. And Al, watch out for him for me, won't you? I'll see you both in a couple of days."_

* * *

At least Winry knew where her work was leading. Al's head was close to the point of bursting. The thickset tome resting in his lap seemed to sink through the ground, weighty the sheer amount of knowledge that it contained. He subdued a sigh from the scant luck he had had over the past few days and replaced his lap with another book from the large reading pile that was looming next to him. Large…monstrous was more appropriate.

He had been here years before. Sifting through books for answers which led to the devastating conclusion that their years of searching for the Philosopher's Stone had led them to a dead end, and that the Stone was comprised of human souls. This time Al yearned that their dedication to the research would get them the information that they were seeking.

And that was…what exactly had happened at the Amestrian Games? While Mustang dug up leads at Central Command following the perpetrators of the event, Al and Ed were searching for the clues that alchemy had to offer. The books were limitless; the days were limiting. It was like they were in a dense fog which wouldn't clear, as if enigma had a personality and wanted to torment the brothers with dead ends and false trails.

Al opened the first page to _The Life and Times of Alchemy_ , as if alchemy was a life and this was a biography for the science. He uttered a silent chuckle and placed his finger on the first paragraph and moved it along the page, like a fishing hook capturing the knowledge hidden within this book. The repetition of reaching for a book, reading it, and placing it to the side had become a ritual to Alphonse.

Ed on the other hand was deeply immersed in the same volume that he had started this morning. His legs were crossed and he was biting his lip, concentration burrowed in his face, and he sat there was a hand on his chin and the other flicking through the pages of the tattered book, oblivious to the world around him. Al cocked his head – somehow, the book looked familiar.

Al heard the footsteps of nurses bustling along the hospital corridor. He heard squirrels scampering through the trees outside and the chirps of birds huddled together in their nests. He was distracted and restless. Usually, he would go out for a walk with Ed so his brother could get a sandwich to eat if they were hovelled up indoors all day every day completing necessary research. It was the break which stopped them both from going crazy by the floodgates of knowledge flowing into their minds for hours at a time.

He peered out of the window and realized that early evening was upon them – twilight. The last that Al remembered, the sun was at its peak in the sky and the nurse had brought Ed his favourite meal with milk! It was an understatement to call Ed spluttering on milk "amusing". They couldn't leave though, not when Ed scorned at the thought of having to use a wheelchair. He wouldn't even consider it. Al remembered the heated argument with Doctor Chiron earlier that day...

It was midmorning, and Ed had just started the tattered book all the while wolfing down the apple pie that Winry had baked for him when the doctor had knocked, and without waiting for a response, he had entered the room.

The doctor had static hair that repelled from his head; brown-grey shoulder-length strands shot out in most directions. He was wearing a lab coat and a stethoscope around his neck with smaller medical instruments in his pockets; with each step he took, they would jingle merrily. Or the jingle was from loose change in his pockets for food and drink – from the wild expression of the doctor's appearance, Al suspected that this was for coffee. His hazel eyes – one more green than brown while the other was the opposite – gestured at Al and motioned to Ed.

Al took the doctor's hint, and slowly closed his own volume, and clambered over to Ed, who still had not noticed the doctor's presence. Ed's eyes were scanning across the page faster than Al could compute, and just as he was about to shake his brother's shoulder, he said, "I know what you're going to say, but I won't do it."

"It's not a matter of choice, it's a matter of practicality," Chrion responded fluidly, but his tone was not harsh, only sensible. Al knew that didn't make sense, yet it did nevertheless.

"I won't," Ed answered like a stubborn child who refused to take the horrible tasting medicine.

"You have to listen to the doctor, Ed," Al coaxed. How many times had Al questioned that he was really the younger one? Too many times.

"That old coot is more of a mad scientist than a doctor!" Ed returned and Al collapsed on the bed next to Ed completely flummoxed. How immature could the Hero of the People, the Fullmetal Alchemist Edward Elric actually be?

"I'm going to bring it in, Ed," Chiron said as he retraced his steps and brought in the contraption that spoke vulnerability, the wheelchair. It was a standard hospital issued one, wheels gleaming, and Ed would be mobile using it. But Ed stood on his own even with his lifeless legs.

Ed was absently holding onto the ridge of his ankles, seeing nothing, as his face blanked the world for a moment. He appeared to be contemplating this, lost in his deep thought that transcended reality as those thoughts dipped gracefully into the plane of dreams. A smile knitted across his features and his ton had become detached and earnest. "I won't, Doctor Chiron."

Chiron shrugged in exaggerated defeat. "Very well, my stubborn patient. If you ever want to leave Central and travel anywhere you'll need this, especially in the North Area."

"Thanks for pointing out the obvious," Ed raised his hand in a farewell gesture before his attention focused back on his book before Chiron had even left the room. A cunning smile was fully blossomed across his face. Al knew that zealous look – Ed had a lead…

Al heard the cracking of knuckles which brought him back into focus, the evening's light a gentle glow around the room. Ed cracked his knuckles again and he arched his back like a cat, rolling his shoulders in their sockets. He still held the tattered and thoroughly broken book in his hand. "Al, we're getting out of this place."

Al saw the determined expression on Ed's face, woven as clearly into his expression as stars were woven on an ebony tapestry in the sky. Hidden beneath that prickly and stubborn demeanour rested a heart of gold. Ed wasn't doing this for himself – always for Al; always for the world. That look on his brother's face meant that Ed had an urgent discovery to share with Al but away from prying eyes.

This discovery was sudden. They hadn't had any visitors today – Mustang was cooped in his office drowning in paperwork, May was chasing leads of Xingese acquaintances still staying in Central, and Winry was completing some secret project. Nobody was quite sure what her mysterious project entailed. So…there had been no visitors today, nobody for Ed to gain leads from, except for the nurses and the doctor with his utter failure of encouraging Ed to use a wheelchair.

What could have given Ed this epiphany of knowledge so randomly? Ed hadn't given any hints at all that he was onto a lead. Al hadn't pinpointed anything significant in his research either. However, Al jolted upright like electricity coursing through his armour – Ed _had_ had a visitor today. Chiron.

Al's mind raced back to the earlier heated discussion between Chiron and Ed. The way that Chiron simply surrendered to Ed's adamant, child-like refusal to his proposal came to his thoughts, and Ed's wry smile as Chiron was leaving. Had Chiron given Ed a vital clue through their conversation like a code?

Chiron held a great respect, almost a reverence, for the General and that meant he would be willing to do a favour for Mustang. Had Chiron passed on a message to Ed from the General?

Anticipation about solving this mystery flowed through Al. He had had enough of scant research and little results to show for that work. He wanted to get out of the clammy hospital room with his brother, and doing so entailed another piggy back ride.

"Ed…" Al started, but he didn't need to finish. Even though Ed trusted Al with his life, he hated to be vulnerable around his younger brother. Al knew that feeling, because he felt the same way. He couldn't stand being useless while Ed fought to protect his own life. And now the roles had reversed, Ed was the one who needed Al to watch over him.

Al had watched his brother through his rehabilitation sessions in silent admiration. Ed would go through every exercise as if he had a fully functioning nervous system, lifting weights that Major Armstrong would have struggled with and working his legs with his arms to prevent the muscle from wearing away. He would hold onto Al's spikes and try to adjust the positon of his feet with the strength of his upper body, and even though he couldn't feel the weight anymore, he could hold the position for several seconds. Ed's resolve remained unbroken.

In truth, Al was also researching everything he could about bio-alchemy. Of course, in Amestris there were so few resources on this, but May would be a great informant. He had gained some rudimentary knowledge in alkahestry – there had to be a way to cure paralysis. That wasn't a simple procedure in itself, but there was also the dilemma of Al's spirit being entwined with Ed's now too. If he performed any transmutation on his brother, there was a risk that it could backfire and harm Ed.

He wanted to gain information from the perpetrators who had robbed Ed of his way to keep moving forward. And if Ed had a lead, Al needed to hear it.

As Ed leaned onto Al's back and they swiftly departed the hospital's antiseptic stench to welcome the scents of the evening. Not that Al could sense them, but he could imagine and dream of the summer's night. While Al wandered between trances, humming along the way, Ed bent down to Al's helmet and whispered, "If you'll stop dithering, little brother, I'll tell you the lead." He smiled that wicked grin. "We're going north."

* * *

 _Out of the blue - an idiom which describes an action or thought that is an unexpected notion from the speaker, typically surprising their audience_


	12. Chapter 12

Don the Armour

How did you guess that Chapter's 11 name came to my mind...out of the blue XD

A quick warning for this chapter: So. Much. Happens. There is angst, action, language and the reader's worst nightmare... a cliffhanger. As an author, I feel so bad for throwing Ed and Al into this one. They've been through so much already. But for the sake of the plot, it had to come :(

Anyway, as always thank you for the reads, and I hope you enjoy in return!

* * *

Chapter 12 - Unforeseen Consequences

In the evening dusk, the city lights were winking on like fireflies humming to life. There were less pedestrians strolling amiably down the street, and most proprietors had their doors shut with windows open to ventilate stuffy rooms. The last few shopkeepers were closing up. For once, Central City was at rest.

Al paid no attention to the surroundings – he was watching his brother attentively from where Ed sat on Al's shoulders. But Ed gave no indication that he was aware of Al's restlessness; he buttoned up his jacket and adjusted his ponytail. Al waited and waited…and waited. Still, Ed was not telling Al anything new. Why was Ed behaving like such an ass?

The younger Elric found a wizened bench which creaked under his weight as he and Ed filled its space, or Al did. He would have flushed in his body – it wasn't his fault that the armour was so…robust.

"Did Chiron give you the lead, Brother?" Al questioned, trying to bring Ed's attention back to what mattered the most – a way to help Ed regain what he had lost. Al only hoped he could instigate this fact into this brother's head for Ed appeared to be lost in a daydream as his eyes were gazing into the distance. He was oblivious to what Al was saying.

"Ed…Edward!" Al barked the name like an order and Ed snapped back into focus, his shoulders suddenly tense and alert. He then exhaled and slumped back into the confines of the bench.

"I'll tell you back inside, Al. I'm feeling cold," Ed muttered, and he clearly feigned chattering his teeth. It was not cold – it was the end of a stifling hot summer's day.

"What do you mean, Brother? I thought you wanted to get out of the hospital to avoid any potential spies that may overhear us-" Al was unable to finish as Ed interjected, coughing heavily into his hands. But the cough wasn't raspy – it was feigned as well.

"Let's go, Al," Al then caught the hint of desperation in Ed's voice. Doubt was seeded in Al's mind, and its roots set to work rapidly. Ed's forehead was clammy with a mask of sweat; his pupils were dilated. Something was wrong. Al felt fear's tendrils spreading throughout his mind reach the metallic limbs of his armour, and blocked Al's control of them. "We have to get out of here, Al!"

Ed was staring into the distance again. And that was then Al saw it…or them. There were two or three figures poised on the rooftops like predators, all swathed in black, with rifles by their sides, pointing at the Elric brothers. They were snipers. Al and Ed hadn't moved though – so the snipers may have thought they had not been detected.

Al lumbered to his feet. He couldn't believe he was so _ignorant_ to Ed's hints! No time to think. There wasn't enough time for Ed to scramble onto his back. Al picked up his brother, judging the distance between the bench and the entrance to the hospital grounds. It was too dark to see it, and the gates were at least a five minute walk away.

Why hadn't Ed accepted the offer to have a guard present with him?

Bang. A shot landed in front of Al, who skidded around the dent in the path like it was demonic. He stared at the rooftop. Shit, the snipers were on the move. "What are we going to do, Brother?"

"Run. I'll be your eyes," Ed said as he adjusted himself to the piggy back position on Al's shoulders, straining in difficulty. Al hoisted Ed up for the last part, focusing on running, sprinting. He didn't need oxygen, but exhaustion was seeping into his mind like a parasite. Exhaustion and the fear roots now firmly implanted into his mind drove his clanking armour forwards. He couldn't think a single thought. Only one command was flowing through it: Run.

Bang. Bang. Two consecutive bullets scarred a tree inches from Al's right gauntlet. Al pressed his arms closer to his chest – he had to keep them safe. Ed was ducking on Al's back, but still, they both covered a huge surface area, meaning their chances of getting hit were…

Bang! The top of one of Al's shoulder spikes was wrenched off with a single bullet with the force of a detonating bomb. Al knew that if he was one more inch to the right, the bullet would have hit Ed. They were at point blank range, and the hospital was still too far in sight. He was going to have to face their opponents.

"Al…Al…" Ed kept saying, but Al didn't hear his voice like he was deep underwater, and the only thing he could focus on was running. Of course he was Alphonse Elric. But Al wondered why Ed was saying his name over and over again. Al…alchemy! Al could still use alchemy for goodness sake!

Al clapped his hands and brought them to the ground, and a huge rock wall transmuted behind Al. He reached out a hand out to his side, alchemic energy crackling through his palm, as he raised a rock wall to his side as he was running. Desperation fuelled him.

Bang! Al heard a whine ringing from somewhere, but he couldn't see anywhere but forwards, the only path that wasn't blocked by the towering rock wall pressed to their every side. He looked up. Flying towards them was a bullet shower raining upon them from the heavens. "To the side, Al! Transmute into the rock wall!" Ed screamed, his voice ringing hollowly in Al's mind.

Al pressed his hands to the rock wall and shards of rock flew off the rock wall and hurled upwards towards the sky to meet the raining bullets. They came into contact, the sound a screeching cacophony as the bullet stones exploded into nothing but fireworks. Tonight was far from a celebration however.

A wave of nausea swept through Al. He felt…he _felt_ invisible bullets ricocheting off him, but these were not attacks from the snipers. This was an attack in his mind, and the bullets grabbed him, tightening around him like ropes. His mind was being dragged away. It was impossibly possible. There was a flash of white light; Al's mind was at the portal and then back in the city, flickering like a mirage between the consciousness world and the planar void which Truth occupied. What was going on?

Flicker, flicker, faster than blinking.

Black. White.

Portal. Roadside.

He kept running, the armour grinding with the roadside with the force that Al was exerting. And then Al stopped. He kept running, but his mind just stopped. The white void pressed around him – he was in the portal of Truth. Nothing moved; nothing breathed, as if nature itself dare not draw breath.

 _Ed…Ed!_

"You attempted to perform alchemy, I presume?" Truth cackled. Al stared around trying to grapple the location of Truth. Rage flowed through him, a strong enough force which would have made Truth come crawling to him begging for forgiveness. But he couldn't – it was trapped inside of him.

 _Brother!_

"You knew the consequences that performing alchemy would bring, didn't you?" Truth's sonorous laughter quietened down, and Al could pinpoint the sound. Truth's arms were crossed, with their head cocked to the side, their back resting on Al's Gate. Where was his body?

Truth gestured with their head, guessing Al's unspoken question, "Look behind you, alchemist."

Al gasped in horror. Horror was such a cruel understatement however. Lying crumpled on the floor was Al's body, coughing and spluttering. Golden eyes locked with his. His body's face was stained with blood, which was congealed and pooled deeper the closer it reached his chest. And there, crimson red like a target, was a blood seal drawn on his body's chest. The golden orbs refused to lift their gaze.

"Your spirit was weakened if you remember correctly," Truth started and continued as though they admired the sound of their own voice. But Truth was cold – Truth was ice; emotion to them was just a defective evolution of humankind. "Let's think about a molecule. There is an atom at the centre, in control, or _you, your soul._ There are then two bonded atoms joined to your one, being your body and Edward Elric's body respectfully. What joins you together is your spirit.

"However, one spirit cannot keep these strong bonds together. It's beyond their capability. So now their only source of energy, your soul, is being shed to sustain the strength of these bonds. The bonds which are keeping your brother alive," Truth reminded.

Al had no strength to form words. _Why the blood seal? Just…why?_

"You have forgotten a vital question, alchemist. The one called Virtue asked you that question: _how does this body of yours work?_ It was your choice, Alphonse Elric, to surrender your body to the portal. The blood seal acts as a medium between body and soul through the spirit. This blood seal which you have to protect is now bound to your brother. If it shatters, you both will pass through the portal…and never come back. Your spirit feeds through his body, your body and your soul. As your body is the only one of those three trapped in the portal, this had to be where the blood seal was placed."

 _You morbid, sick,_ twisted-

"To answer your second question…I wonder, alchemist. I wonder about the mistakes of humankind. You seem incapable of seeing the consequences of your actions, much like your reckless sibling. This will teach you a lesson."

 _Don't you dare do anything to my brother, you demon!_

A surge of anger pelted through Al. He wanted Truth to fucking die.

There was a faint pressure at the back of Al's mind, like a voice calling out for him. He struggled to focus and hear the words. But he was furious, a vehement anger filling his mind. He wanted to lash out against Truth, against the world.

 _"Alphonse! Snap out of it! Listen to me! I'm here for you…we all are!"_ The voice was screaming. Ed. Al's brother sounded like his heart was breaking in two. Was Ed afraid of losing Al?

Al's world was tumbling around him. It was so hard to focus on the voice. Not when the anger was consuming him. _"You're not like this, Al. This isn't you! Al…please. Brother!"_

No. This wasn't him. He was Alphonse Elric, compassionate, determined, resourceful. He was an alchemist, a friend, a brother, a human. He was many things. But a murderer…never.

Anger melded with serenity. As long as Al's soul was alive, his body had to survive too. But, what about when his soul shed away? How long would it take before he was consumed like mindless energy? Who would be there to watch Ed's back then?

Why did Ed need a guard when he had a shining armoured knight there to protect him forever?

He cried the tears that were impossible to shed.

"Until next time, Alphonse Elric. Until the next time you choose to use alchemy," Truth's voice slipped away. Al was falling through the black as life bolted through him like lightning. He was in the armour, but he had collapsed surrounded by the rocky walls he had transmuted.

The first thing he noticed was Ed slumped across his chest. The night was silent and still. No breeze stirred.

"Brother!"

Ed's body shook as if being revitalised. His hands were clasped together in firm fists, his legs splayed out uselessly behind him. His golden eyes shone with relief, oblivious to the sight that Al was witness to.

A sniper was inches behind Ed, with a finger held over the trigger.


	13. Chapter 13

Don the Armour

I had an hour to write this before I go out again. This chapter may be a bit rushed and will probably need editing, but I had to get it up for you guys :D

Ok, I literally have to go before my parents drive off without me! XD

Please enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 13 - Soul's Reflection

For as long as he could remember, Al had always had a fear of mirrors, or after he had become a soul bound to a suit of armour. In the long nights where his mind could wander freely, on the border with dreams, he could imagine himself having a body of flesh. He could imagine smiling and stuffing his face full of apple pie with Ed and Winry. But when he looked into a mirror, it was like reality had slapped him around the face; he would see a suit of armour staring back at him and no dreams could take away the fact that he had lost what was most precious to him – feeling the warmth of this world.

There was no other way to describe it, but having a body was the same as being filled with warmth. He could trust that his own two legs would catch him when he fell. He could _feel_ the world and by that contact, Al was a part of it. By not feeling that, he was isolated and so terribly lonely. Apart, a drifter. Nothing more than a reflection.

How selfish he had been.

His own two legs? All Al had to do was look at his brother. Ed would grumble and complain and could be too stubborn even for Al's patience, but he would always smile. Just because Ed had automail and was paralyzed didn't mean that he felt pity for himself. For all the burdens they had to carry, they could feel happiness. Inside he had a soul; Al could feel as much emotion as anyone with a body of flesh and blood.

Al loved his brother smiling. As Ed was smiling there in the evening light with a gun unknowingly pressed against his head.

The sniper's face was covered with black, their eyes cool and calculated, as if killing was nothing to enjoy, but a mundane task that had to be completed. Their fingers were inching towards the trigger.

It was cliché to think, Al knew, but in the dusk, Ed's smile was the definition of happiness that his younger brother was safe. Ed never saw Al as nothing but a reflection.

And who knew that a simple reflection could save their life?

Time slowed. Al's armour gleamed in the fading light. He reacted without thinking. To his left he had collapsed next to the iron gates where there was not a large and crumbling rock wall being the remains of the ruined pathway. He clapped his hands to transmute a weapon from the gates. However, time was dragging. His gauntlets were moving slower than brewing clouds before a storm. They were shaking.

There were going to be killed.

Ed's eyebrows narrowed in confusion at Al's sudden movements. Just at that moment, the light reflected on the armour straight into Ed's eyes. They widened, seeing the sniper inches from his face with the gun pointed unceremoniously at his head.

The sniper grinned in satisfaction, their finger pressing on the trigger, and the bullet burst forth from the gun like lightning from the storm clouds, faster than comprehension. But the Fullmetal Alchemist was hailed as a prodigy for good reasons. Ed ducked, the bullet avoiding his antennae by a hairsbreadth. The bullet crashed against the surface of Al's armour and was reflected back at the sniper, hitting them directly through the palm of their dominant hand which held the gun.

Al reached the metal gate, transmuting a sword and as the gun fell from the sniper's hands, he reacted; his weapon sliced the other in two. The only sound was of heavy breathing, a clatter of broken metal and the pooling of blood below.

The sniper clasped their hand, their eyes growing wider with surprise, but Ed and Al weren't children anymore. Hell, they hadn't been children for a long time. And even if they had despised signing up to the military originally, it was paying off now.

Ed was sprawled over the top of Al's armour after ducking, and he was laying there with his head tilted to the side panting heavily. Al grasped onto the hilt of his sword, challenging his opponent for another grapple of the weapons. But he had more pressing concerns. "Are you okay, Brother?"

"Yeah, but you scared me there, Al," Ed pushed his hands so he was sitting upright as the sniper retreated a few paces, their uninjured hand pressed firmly against the crimson-spattered one. Ed turned his head towards the sniper, his messy ponytail bobbing as he moved around, glowing like strands of pure gold.

"Sorry, Brother," Al answered sheepishly. His attention diverted to the sniper, yet Al could see them lifting their hands to the sky – the signal for surrender.

At that moment, another figure darted out of the shadows and shots screeched through the air from the rifle firing. But these bullets had feathers on them…they were darts!

Al pushed himself upright as the darts aimed for them with the accuracy of missiles. They glinted menacingly in the light like shards of death. Except they wouldn't bring death – their purpose was to render someone unconscious. Ed.

The younger Elric threw his arms out and Ed yelped and dropped dazed to the ground. He tried to scramble and move closer to the shelter of Al's back plate, but he had those useless legs flailing like stalks behind him. His upper body and torso reached the safety of Al, but he didn't have enough time to drag his legs as well. The darts were upon them like rain, striking as swiftly as lightning.

They were fortified enough to puncture the top surface of Al's armour, but they stopped. He didn't have a blood seal in the armour, yet his poor body had paid the price for that. No time for pity. Never enough time!

Time was a bitch.

As Al turned his helmet to look at Ed, he gasped as he saw that one of the darts had scraped the side of Ed's right foot. Why couldn't it have been the automail one? Truth was cackling somewhere, he knew. The snipers were laughing, he knew. Al's eyes burnt with anger as Ed's body collapsed into unconsciousness with more fury than the rising of the storm. The storm wasn't around him – he _was_ the storm.

"How dare you…How dare you…" Al repeated as though he was uttering a prayer. But he was doing the opposite – he was the one carrying with wrath of a God. The sniper who had fired the darts was standing protectively in front of the injured sniper, who was hurryingly securing a bandage to stop their bleeding.

 _"_ _You're not like this, Al. This isn't you! Al…please. Brother!"_ A voice called dimly in the back of Al's mind. No. He couldn't listen to that. They had hurt Ed.

No.

"If you lay a hand on my brother, I swear, you're going to regret it for eternity," Al growled threateningly. His soul eyes blazed with the strength of a furnace.

He didn't want to ask questions. He didn't want their ridiculous excuses. He wanted answers.

"What do you want with us? Haven't we witnessed enough of Hell already?" Al cried, but his voice did not waver for an instant. His appetite for justice had barely only been stanched; like the bullets that only ricocheted off the surface of his armour leaving little more than a scratch, Al had a lot further to go before he was satisfied. Satisfied that he had protected Ed.

Morally, Al knew what he was doing was wrong. But this was a border that couldn't be crossed, and these snipers had crossed it. No.

"No…Al." Was that voice in his head or calling his name out aloud? Al's attention was diverted and he stared down at Ed's still body on the ground. His body was quiet, with the shallow rise and fall of his chest indicating that his brother was in deep sleep. "No…Al."

"Don't…be…stupid," Ed choked and Al couldn't see Ed's face buried amid the mass of flowing golden hair, rippling like a river. "I'm…reckless…not you."

"How is he fighting it?" the sniper blurted. Al paused, watching as the sniper pulled out a dosage label. Had Ed had a dose which was supposed to have knocked him out?

Apparently Ed had heard. "Don't…condescend me…bastard. I'm…always fighting…" Ed said although his body was very still.

Always fighting. That was true. Al and Ed had a resolute determination and spirit which kept them focused and alive for the warmth that Al had lost. Fighting to preserve their happiness forever.

 _Look at me,_ Al thought harshly. _I really have become nothing but a reflection._

Al was afraid of mirrors. They showed him the inescapable reality that he was trapped in the suit of armour, making both his journey and purpose for fighting seem like a lost cause. It made his spirit sink like a prey which would inevitably be caught. And Al would accept his fate. But there were harsher things to see in the mirror.

He did not only see the reflection of his body. He also saw his soul's reflection. At that moment outside the gates to the hospital, Al imagined peering into the mirror and seeing his soul. It had become a bitter, resentful thing. _He_ had become bitter and cold.

How could he feel warmth if he had surrendered to the winter inside of himself?

Perhaps this lack of self-control was a punishment from Truth. If Al's steady resolve was broken, the foundations of who Alphonse Elric was would soon follow suit and shatter. Was that how his soul was being depleted of energy? Would he lose reason and rationality each time he performed alchemy?

He was gentle; he had never been this angry so many times over the past few days.

But Ed was calling his brother back to the world of light, quietly in a voice no more audible than a whisper. Al wanted to preserve Ed's smile. The anger that had been brewing inside of him wanted to rip free from it shell, as untameable as a wild beast, yet it was subsiding. Ed was bringing the real Al, the kind and compassionate Al, back to reality.

No other person could call Al back with but a few quiet words.

That mirror in his mind's eye shattered. Al shook his helmet in disbelief, dropping to his knees before Ed. The snipers were forgotten. "Oh, Ed, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry…"

The last light shone in the horizon, and as if the sky was yawning, the world was plunged into darkness. Night –time complied with the law of the heavens and began to paint a starry canvas of constellations across the blackening sky as it did every night. There was now not a cloud in sight. No storms would brew tonight. If Al had looked up, he would have been filled with wonder to the eternal beauty of the world he lived in.

But the snipers did not forget about them, despite them witnessing the bonds of brotherhood beneath the stars. They had two alchemists to secure and detain.

"I'm sorry to barge in like this, but can reunions be delayed for now, Al?" Everyone stared up to the rooftops, all except a slumbering Ed, a second later. Standing by the hospital gates, the city lights brightening his features, Chiron grinned and pulled out a gun from his pocket, pointing them at the snipers. "We have intruders to deal with first!"


	14. Chapter 14

Don the Armour

Chapter 14 - Diverging Paths

 _It was cold. He was shivering as if his duvet was sprinkled with frost. It wasn't even winter yet, but he felt its bitterness howling at his window of the November wind. The darkness loomed on forever, and Al huddled deeper under his covers._

 _He had been in his own room for a week now. He had begged his mother to let him have his own room. And yet…the wind moaned at the doors and the trees rattled through the air like invisible scythes. He was alone as the casters of dark and storm battled outside of his bedroom window._

 _Al jolted as rain started to fall too. His shivering intensified. He was terrified._

 _He grabbed for his pillow and slipped out of bed. The hallway light was on as he opened his door. The floorboards creaked beneath his feet, and every ushering sound caused him to whelp in surprise. Al constantly checked behind him, his senses all alert, as he passed his parent's bedroom, hoping he didn't wake them up. At the end of the hallway, he stopped._

 _If he opened the next door, his older brother would know he was a coward. Al prided himself with beating Ed in every fight. He would be admitting defeat if he opened the door._

 _But he was closer to Ed than anything else. He swallowed his childhood pride and reached on his tiptoes to pull the door open…_

 _And as Al pushed the door opened, he tumbled backwards with a thump onto the landing as Ed barged straight into him. Ed's hair was ruffled, and deep circles had settled beneath his eyes. His shoulders were tense – as if all of his senses were on fire and as alert as Al's were._

 _"_ _Al!" Ed cried, but as Al's pleading gaze his voice softened to a whisper. "I was so worried about you. You've never liked the dark…"_

 _There was silence for a moment before both brothers answered simultaneously, "I came to find you."_

 _Al's mouth gaped open in surprise and Ed looked abashed at the floor. The older Elric grabbed Al's arm and dragged him into the recesses of his own bedroom, shutting the door firmly behind them. AL hugged his pillow close to his chest as he crawled into bed after Ed. The outside seemed to be a world away._

 _"_ _If we're sharing a room, we have to get a bunkbed. And I want the top bunk." Ed mumbled, his voice already coated with the entrancing promise of sleep._

 _"_ _Okay, Brother," Al replied, but in truth,_ he _wanted the top bunk. He would have to convince Ed to settle it with a fight._

 _But dreams were dancing before Al's eyes. With the warmth of Ed beside him, he closed his eyes and his breathing deepened as the fears of the dark faded like the stars at sunrise._

 _It could wait until tomorrow._

* * *

Al should have realized. There were many things that he had been, and still was, ignorant to. The first case: why could Chiron wield a gun?

He knew the Brigadier General, and had greeted him like an old friend, no…an ally. And Chiron worked in a military hospital. That meant he had a military background. He could wield a weapon as well as any soldier.

But Chiron was a world away. The world around him, the world that he was seeing, was a kaleidoscope of emotion. On one side, there was light and the other there was dark, like both aspects of his reeling mind.

He wanted to run. He wanted to protect Ed.

He wanted to fight. He wanted to protect Ed.

He had to protect Ed.

Al was trapped in the middle of the fight or flight scenario against the snipers, against Truth, against this situation.

Ed's words of caution rang faintly in the back of his mind, but with each time he tried to remember them, they became fainter and hazier as if blocked out by a layer of foam. It was becoming harder to call to that light side. He was leaning towards that dark corner and the need to fight.

But he should be _running._ That was how everyone could live. And that way, nobody would get hurt. Fighting wasn't the only solution to the problem.

What if fighting was the only solution though? He could stop the snipers…he could interrogate him…the armour body was a bonus…he wouldn't get hurt.

A bitterness surged through Al with the burning desire of revenge. He had been complacent for all of his life. He had allowed Truth to rip his soul away from his own body. He had done nothing when Ed's ability to walk had been robbed from him. He had allowed his body to be beaten bloody with a blood seal carved with his own anguish.

He had done nothing. And that had been his _useless._

Al clutched his gloves to his helmet as a piercing scream sounded from his armour. How could it be such a beautiful night when his mind was a tempest of emotions?

Ed was lying on his lap still unconscious. Al heard footsteps coming towards him. Driven by instinct, he lashed out with a low sweeping hand which the person jumped over with ease with the grace of an acrobat. If blood could have been pounding against his head, the feeling would have been agony; the blood would have pounded against his skull as thunderous as a waterfall.

He couldn't see who the object of his attacks was – his mind was too clouded with fury.

Every person had a limit. And Al had been on its border for a long time.

He had _snapped._ He had crossed that border and without Ed awake, there was nothing to pull him back.

His soul eyes glowed like a molten furnace. They would all be hurt for trying to harm them. Al would protect Ed with the strength of his soul even without his alchemy.

"Alphonse! Al! _Shit."_ The object of Al's attacks was in fact Chiron. He dug a hand into his pocket and slammed a button on a key chain he never lost sight of, which was his emergency call. Both the military and the nearest MP force would receive this signal of distress. Chiron had a duty of care to Edward – he didn't have enough time to stop Alphonse too. He didn't know what Ed had in his system and how toxic these substances were.

Al was oblivious since the shadows block people's features from view. He felt their touch around him.

Al had once been afraid of the dark. He had once had to survive through the nightmares with his brother by his side. He had been afraid that if he fell asleep, the dark and cold would snatch him away to some godforsaken place.

What place could be worse than the portal?

Why had he been fearful of something he was now awake to every night?

But Al possessed little to no self-control in his state. This was Truth's most sinister toll ever.

"I swear, you're going to keep on paying for what you did!" Al screeched, "I've never stopped paying since the day Mum died!" His armour soles clanked against the ground as he rushed up to meet the snipers. Oh they tried to fire bullets but they were worthless and clattered to the floor like pins. Al raised his right fist and swiped it overhead, which knocked one assailant in the chest, sending them tumbling backwards. The other with the weapon still brandished in their hand lifted it across to defend their chest. However, Al's left hand swept out from seemingly out of nowhere, which this sniper could not avoid. They were sent reeling back to the gates of the hospital's compound, disorientated from Al's sudden switch from the defensive to the offensive.

He couldn't hear Chiron swearing repeatedly under his breath. " _Shit, shit, shit, hold on Ed!"_ He was slamming a foot onto the button repeatedly while rummaging around in his bag for a needle and syringe. Ed had been given more than a lethal dose of poison. It would take him, and quickly, too. The older Elric had started shaking profusely.

However, back-up had arrived. Rock walls conjured out of alchemy and screams echoing through the night in a region of Central wouldn't fail to attract attention. But regular MPs and soldiers couldn't confront alchemists. Alchemists could counter alchemists. The few alchemists who had been wounded at the Amestrian Games were separated into the different hospitals around Central, but four had been admitted here. The Elric brothers, Roy Mustang and Alex Louis Armstrong with a broken rib.

And they had come. Roy had abandoned his sling and had his alchemic gloves on. Armstrong was impeccable, the sparkles glittering around him accounted for, and only the bandages on his bare chest indicated any sign of injury. Their morale had not dampened in the slightest.

"We have arrived!" the hulking Major announced, "Witness the technique of alchemic combat passed down the Armstrong line for 14 generations!"

As if summoned by his calls, five more snipers jumped delicately on the roadside from the rooftop, their faces hooded and hidden. Each was holding a different weapon, but each had the characteristic rifle slung across their backs.

The General and Major saw Chiron working on Ed and their gaze continued to Al, who was trembling and preparing to advance for the next round of attack with the original two snipers. However, there were five snipers about to attack the doctor and patient. Even though their wounds throbbed inside out, they both advanced. One snapped his fingers and the other slammed his steel gauntlets into the earth. Fire and rock arose from their simultaneous transmutations.

Chiron, at the same time, had found what he was looking for, and inserted the correct volume of liquid into the syringe before plunging its contents into Ed's arm. " _Work!"_ he hissed at the contents travelling through Ed's vein directly back to the heart, willing it to pump faster and harder. _"Work!"_

The faint ring of battle whispered around Al. He was striding forward, at the point where he was about to break out into a run when he heard a voice like grit whisper into the air. _"Work!"_

He turned around, his mind disorientated by shock to witness the Brigadier General and Major fighting against a larger band of snipers, defending a crouching Chiron over Ed's unconscious body. Suddenly, he heard the icy breathing of a sniper standing next to him. Al went limp and he was dragged to the ground. He didn't move.

"We need your skills, and we need _you_ alive," one of the snipers whispered in a thick accent. They definitely were not from Amestris. And this wasn't a request, this was an order. If he didn't turn himself in now, everyone was going to get hurt.

And how could he face Ed in this state, with his soul so badly wounded that he could snap at anything? Al let his armoured limbs slump to the floor, and they were detained by the two snipers he had injured. More snipers seemed to melt from the shadows of the dark streets, as if they had observed the entire fight and had been forced not to intervene until now. There were at least two dozen of them.

"There're too many!"

"Even the alchemy which is the legacy of the Armstrong family cannot overturn this many at once, especially not with the young Elrics being injured!"

The Brigadier General and the Major. They had been fighting the battle which was pointless. They would be injured even more if he didn't surrender now. Chiron was wiping his forehead and his expression told Al that Ed was in a stable condition. Ed would be fine. It was Al's entire fault. "Promise me you won't hurt them. Promise me they won't be killed."

The snipers exchanged a glance with each other, and nodded in mutual agreement to Al's request.

He would be taken by these people alone. Al surrendered for the first time in his life.

 _His mind flashed back to that moment over fifteen years ago to that stormy night which had frightened him so much. Al was about to knock on Ed's bedroom door. He closed his eyes, held his breath, and braced himself for what was to come. But instead he turned away and returned to the depths of his own bedroom. Alone._


	15. Chapter 15

Don the Armour

Hello everyone! I hope you're having a good weekend and that the work isn't piling up XD

I'm sorry for the craziness that was introduced into the last chapter; Al leaving his body behind had so many consequences. Poor Ed is going to wake up without Al there too ;(

(If this is comforting at all, this story will have a happy ending. But we're a long way from that yet!)

Thank you for reading, your continued support and patience amazes me :D I'll see you with the next update! ~ Dawn

* * *

Chapter 15 - Lost In Heaven

Everything hurt. His head was pounding like a volcano erupting; his insides were squirming so that he had the constant feeling of nausea watching over him as a familiar friend.

But that didn't matter. His feelings were hurt too. They were the things that were broken. And he was powerless to stop it here in the Portal of Truth.

Al felt that the connection to his soul was becoming weaker and weaker. It was a strange sensation to even describe. He thought of his connection with his soul as a train, connected by carriages. Those carriages represented an aspect of Alphonse Elric – his body, his soul and his spirit. His body and soul were connected through that strand of spirit, and together they functioned as the fuel for the train, keeping Alphonse Elric alive.

But when the connection of the carriages was beginning to sever, and the cargo of the other Elric brother had been added onto the train, the engine threatened to surrender, and the train would come to a halt. If that happened…Alphonse Elric would die.

And this Al wouldn't have that.

He couldn't remember how long he had been at the Portal of Truth. Perhaps it had been a week or a year; time was finite and infinite here. When his body was connected again to his soul, the two personas of Alphonse Elric would merge, and the differences between them would cease to exist; they would be one. Yet having a soul removed from the body caused fractures to the spirit and so too the mind was affected. Both body and soul had part a spirit and a part of a mind to function. That was how Al in Amestris could act independently to the Al situated here.

They were connected of course, but recognised each other as individuals as well. Al shook his head lightly; he didn't have the energy to think anymore. Ripples of agony were being released through him like tides of anguish and hopelessness. He felt bitter, hollow and cold. He had the sudden desire to lash out against the injustice against the world.

Al knew he was feeling what a fraction of his soul was feeling. All of the pain that his soul felt…he felt too. And he could only watch in fury and helplessness as Truth sat with their legs folded over them, grinning maddeningly at the closed Doorway, watching something which was unseen to Al's body.

This Al was strewn across the expansive white ground-not-ground. He was exposed, violated and the puppet which Truth could command likes strings. Truth could _enter_ and _control_ his body, especially if Al was reckless or attempted something he was forbidden to do, like leave this godforsaken place.

Was it too much to ask to feel the Sun?

However, Truth had decided not to inhabit Al's body, and instead had chosen to sitting by the entrance to the Portal watching as human beings repeated their mistakes a countless number of times. And Al knew that Truth was watching his soul struggling like a battered leaf clinging to a lifeless branch as autumn turned into winter.

Al stared down at his chest at the blood seal drawn as crimson as embers into his chest; this had been the toll that he had not foreseen. He didn't care what pain he had to endure himself, but that of Ed and his counterpart. The other Al was suffering and neither of them could do anything to prevent it. Or that was what it seemed.

The Al trapped in the portal would not surrender even if all hope seemed lost to his soul. By being connected by a strand of spirit to his soul, he could contact him. When he did this, he felt like his mind was being filled with images and information, of places and names and people. The last time he had attempted this was shortly after they had been separated; he had seen an abandoned house, an upturned car and sparse fields emptying out into a city beyond – that place was Central.

He could connect with aspects of reality when he strengthened the connection between the aspect of him here and the other in reality through their spirit. And if his spirit was now a part in Ed too…wouldn't it be possible if he contacted his brother?

Flash. Al's mind flashed a sudden white, and he suddenly heard the sounds of rifle fire, the pounding of fighting around him; he could see evening shadows dancing in the distance, blue sparks of alchemy beaming out of rock formations darting out of the ground. His mind was a kaleidoscope of emotion. He was seeing everything through his own eyes as if he was a part of the action, and _there._ That was when he realized that he was watching the world through his soul's eyes.

What was happening?

Panic shot down his spine. Something was wrong. His vision was suddenly slipping, and he was back in Truth's white void. Al could sense his soul less and less, almost like they were becoming disconnected from each other. Alienated. Foreign.

Al saw that Truth was standing up and staring at him, a merciless smile drawn across their face. Al's blood seal had started to glow a fiery red.

"You shouldn't be so reckless. You were warned that there would be repercussions if you used alchemy," Truth stated and cocked their head back to the Door, as though they were missing valuable entertainment. It was sickening to have to witness. Al's teeth gritted over one another like sandpaper; he was furious, and he couldn't even understand why.

 _I only feel what a fraction on my soul must feel._ There was a flash of light again and Al was disorientated and overwhelmed by a rapid sequence of images in his mind's eye. He could see a figure outlined with black, a cascade of bullets raining down on him, he tried to cover Ed with his armour, and he tried to abate the fury swelling up inside of his chest. The street lights looked hostile and menacing; they had lost their gentle celestial glow. And he could see darts imbedding themselves into their targets. And one of those targets was Ed…

That was it.

Al started to run up to the Gate. He was going to leave and return to his soul and end this godforsaken madness. He had to, before his soul slipped away even further. Al's thoughts were swirls of chaos and confusion; what if his soul slipped out of his touch?

Who could protect his soul then? That was this Al's job…no matter what.

He threw his hands in front on him, attempting to open the Gate by its imaginary hinges. But the domain of God was no match for a mere mortal like him. And Al had become breathless; he stared at his chest where the blood seal was glowing a cherry colour. His ribs were beginning to jut out of his frame and his arms were more bone than they were muscle. He noticed that there were a few loose strands of hair creeping down past his eyes.

His body was already beginning to deteriorate, and the process was being accelerated as this time, Ed didn't have any nutrients to expend to conserve the life of his younger brother.

Al's legs were starting to buckle beneath him, confirming his suspicions. As his soul was becoming weaker mentally, he was becoming weaker physically. He started to pant; he felt like he wasn't delivering enough oxygen to his brain, despite how heavily he was breathing in. Each breath caused stabs to cleave through his chest. And the Gate was only inches from his grasp!

He started to reach out for the exit into reality…only a little further…But Truth was standing in front of him, staring down at him, _mocking_ him, "This is what you chose it to be, alchemist. This is nobody's fault but your own."

As he was reaching his breaking point, his soul was witnessing the enticing sanctuary that bordered with insanity. It would take them away from the pain. He could just lie down and forget it all. Perhaps he could wake up, whole and complete, with a snoring Ed sleeping in the room next door. He would be able to hear Winry tinkering at automail downstairs. He would be home, and everyone would be safe.

And his other half would not have to suffer. That was all that Al wanted. Nothing more. He wanted to be at home with his brother.

"Take us home!" Al pleaded, looking into Truth's omnipotent face. But why would Truth care? Why would Truth do anything to help humankind when they were so expendable like broken parts?

Al was broken, he knew that.

The most furious pain doubled him over at that instant; it felt like ice-fire had been inserted into his bloodstream. But he was unconscious…he couldn't cry out. He couldn't feel his legs…

Wait. Al was seeing this through Ed's eyes, and not from his soul. He had been poisoned. _"Work"_ he heard a voice hiss. He didn't know who the voice belonged to, but he prayed alongside the stranger. _Please work. Make it go away. Help my brother without his body._ And then everything ebbed away into a sweet emptiness, oblivion.

Al had the desire to sleep for a thousand years. Ed had been poisoned, he had been in Ed's mind, and witnessed what his brother had experienced! Al's body was more closely bound to Ed than to his soul. Al willed all of the strength in his mind to reach out for his other part, but the connection was empty, hollow. He felt severed.

"He has crossed the border…" Al whispered, wishing even more dearly that this was a bad dream. He was still slumped across the white void and Truth was almost disinterested with Al, yet they agreed with Al.

"He has crossed the border. He has chosen a different path to you. You are becoming more distant from each other with each second that passes," Truth shook their head as if they were a disappointed parent, like this matter was too trivial for them to care seriously. Truth couldn't care.

But Al was only aware of the hollowness brewing inside of him, eating away at his resilience. There was no place for anger inside of his heart. The daunting prospect of living alone loomed before him for what felt like eternity.

 _Al…_

* * *

His gloves were bound by shackles which he could break apart by exerting little to no force. But there was no point trying to resist. If he resisted, he knew that Ed, Winry, May, and everyone he cared about would pay the price. They were safe as long as he did not resist. He was in a car, and they had been journeying for many hours; at least a day had passed.

He stared out of the window, watching as the expansive city of Central melted in the distance like stars vanishing in the dawn light. Barren hillside had rolled into snow-capped mountains as the car left the main road behind. They were going down an abandoned dirt track through the heart of the mountains. Al was sure that this was an illegal trade route.

And he recognised the mountain range surrounding him. He had stayed in the mountain's looming watch for a long time. They were passing through Briggs, the strong force in the north of Amestris.

How could it be summer? How could it be spring?

Already the idea that winter was eternal had been dinned and etched into his mind.

As soon as the car had travelled over the border, the driver had slowed down, as if they were starting to relax now that they were out of the enemy's territory. The Ice Queen was a soldier to be feared, even more so if she was your enemy.

Al felt severed, alone. He remembered all of those train rides when he had watched Ed sleeping under the governance of the night. And he remembered his body smiling, waiting for him.

Al wondered if he would ever have the right to return to them in his current state, a burdensome soul who held the secrets to utilising a weapon. The Drachmanians would have hunted him down until the end of time because Al himself _was_ the secret, even if he didn't understand why. If anything, he was definite that he was being taken to Drachma. It didn't matter. He rested his helmet on the window's edge, seeing through the cloudy glass at the world outside.

All he cared about was his lost Heaven, which was nothing but a distant dream, but one where he could be complete once again.


	16. Chapter 16

Don the Armour

Merry Christmas everyone! And here we go, here is chapter 16, even if it's a little late. I hope you enjoy! :D

Thank you everyone so much for your patience with this story, your support is invaluable ^^

* * *

Chapter 16 - From Ghost To Light

Had the Amestrian Games actually happened? Thinking back on it now…it all felt like a dream.

The landscape of dreary mountain caps and frozen rivers had become too familiar to Al as the car had sped along dirt tracks and mountain paths. Now it was travelling in the twilight towards the undeniable signs of inhabitation; glowing lights dotted the horizon beyond. The drivers were conversing intently in Drachmanian, Al presumed. May had taught him a little Xingese, enough that if he ever had to fend for himself in the huge expanse of country, he would know what to say. He had even picked up a few phrases in Cretan that Ed may blurt on the phone to one of his associates from Creta. However this was a language he was hopeless about.

Perhaps he should have paid attention in school a little more closely. But alchemy had absorbed his time and intellect like a flower draws in sunlight for photosynthesis.

And that power was out of his grasp. He didn't dare use it. He couldn't _believe_ that he could have lost control of his mind, and just like _that._ It was like applying too much force to a balloon and having it pop. Except with a balloon, there was no chance of fixing and repairing the torn mass. Al's mind was at the point of bursting, and alchemy could be the catalyst which caused his mind to shatter. What would happen to Ed and the others then?

Alchemy was a thought he didn't consider.

With no leads to follow from understanding nothing in this foreign dialect and with alchemy not being an option, Al had inspected his surroundings, but the bleak landscape was exactly the same as it had been hours earlier. It was hard to judge distance in the snowy blanket which seemed to wrap around dormant in Drachma, including in summer. He was supposed to be fanning himself in Resembool, in a body which could judge hot from cold, like dark from light, and listening to Ed complaining about the heat. Winry would be scolding him and May would be laughing quietly behind Al.

What a lovely dream.

 _I can't wallow in self-pity…Time's too precious to waste it on that._ Al's helmet shook lightly and creaked as it turned to gaze at the figures in black who occupied the front of the car. Like a child, he had been strapped to the backseat but he was being ignored; the driver and the person occupying the passenger's seat were engrossed in an animated conversation. While one spoke at the speed of light, the other bobbed their head in adamant agreement. They appeared to be the opposite of the malevolent and illusive snipers who had given him no alternative but surrender.

He looked into the mirror, which the driver was completely ignoring. Al could see their feature's closer up, or more precisely their eyes; one had a deeply-set brown pair and the other blue. From their forms and disposition, Al assumed that they were male.

Apart from that…Al was clueless. His captors were discussing something that benefited and excited them, although Al imaginarily rolled his eyes that all these people were thinking about was getting paid. But if they had a family and they were returning home to their families, Al's soul-bound heart leapt in sympathy for them. Despite all that had happened, and the unquenchable anger, as adamant as a legendary vampire's thirst for blood, that had coursed through his veins, Al was calm. He was under control for now, and he had the feeling that he would slip again soon. However, if there was any way that he could avoid that from happening, like not using alchemy, then he would use the options available to them until they were exhausted. And he still wouldn't give up.

That was what it meant to be an Elric brother.

As if in response to the finality of his thoughts, Al had the unmistakable squeal of the brakes on the car and it came to a halt. Looking out of the window, he noticed that the bleak landscape of Drachmanian countryside had been exchanged in favour for a more urban environment. Not the extravagance of Central, but Al thought that he was in a smaller Drachmanian city or large town; he could distinguish the faint twinkling of lights that illuminated from the homes and the fortified buildings with the Drachmanian seal flying from a flag in the centre of the mass of houses. The Drachmanian's army base in this town.

The front car door, the driver's, abruptly opened and a second later the handle to his door opened too. Al didn't move. He waited for the signal from the driver, who was standing on the roadside beside the car cracking his knuckles, as if he expected some type of resistance from Al. Instead Al heaved his armour out of the car and held out his bound gauntlets to the driver, who glared at Al before grabbing the shackles. Al followed obediently, stooping over, expecting to move slowly and cautiously across the town in the coming of night. However, the person who was dragging him forward moved with the stealth of an alley cat hunting; Al had to lengthen his stride considerably to stop himself from lagging behind.

He was heading towards a solid grey wall. It wasn't even covered in graffiti from what Al could identify in the dim twilight, and Al instinctively slowed his pace to stop them from crashing into it. it wouldn't hurt him, but he had not been without his body long enough for these human reflexes to dull. He stopped. He had bumped into the car driver. Their eyes gleamed at him, again like a cat's, and a door, as if manifested out of shadow, opened in front of him. It descended down what seemed to be a thousand steps. The layout was medieval – these stairs were made from thick wedges of stone, dark and damp, glistening with moisture and cobwebs. The only light beaming down the stairs was from the dingy entrance which was where Al was standing.

He swallowed the air he could not swallow. Pits of nervousness welled inside of his soul as cavernous as the stairs looming beyond in the darkness. Al tried to drive the feeling of fear away, envisioning Ed or May storming confidently down the steps without a moment's doubt or hesitation. But he had always been more cautious. However, the thought of Ed and May acted as a comfort, as a beacon of light, and he abated his fear, leaving a ruminating apprehension, which was like the remaining abscess after an infection.

There wasn't even candlelight to guide him. Despite the lack of bodily functions which the armour granted while his soul was inhabited inside of it, he wasn't granted the luxury of night vision. _I guess I just haven't paid enough,_ Al almost bitterly thought, but shrugged his emotions away. He had to be detached, calm, like a detective when they had to analyse a crime scene. They couldn't risk becoming panicked and missing any piece of crucial evidence.

Now Al had to tread his way carefully, and not only to prevent himself from falling. There were potentially powerful people down the depths below the flight of stairs. No…Al was certain that there were powerful people down there. They could explain why he was here. And if they explained, that would mean that they were not going to let Al go, alive.

 _Stop it!_ He was over-thinking things again, like a chess player predicting their opponent's move in ten round's time. He had to respond to a threat with each new attack and not think recklessly on ahead. That was a dangerous strategy. He had to be cautious and remain in control. Even if he felt _alone_ inside and out without his body or brother, he had to move forward. His captor blocked the door to freedom. The only way to advance was to descend down the steps, into what felt like the fires of Hell. His soul shivered without having to feel the cold. It was the same chilling sensation, the same supernatural pull, of the comings of a nightmare. He didn't have to sleep, but he could still feel the nightmares pressing around him. They reminded Al of wildfire and ruined resurrections and broken limbs in the basement in the darkness.

Down those steps, Al imagined the same haunting basement where he and Ed had attempted human transmutation, and miserably failed. Even if he was supposed to be an adult now, he wished that his mother could be here; a glimpse of her caramel-coloured hair or smelling her honeysuckle fragrance would have been enough.

Without turning back, Al took hold of the railing to his left, and ducking the upper half of his armour, he descended into the belly of a beast, where the future awaited…

* * *

Al had never truly understood the phrase of "eternal darkness" until now; even during those five years of sleepless nights in the armour and he thought that he was surrounded by darkness; there had always been the lights of the city to stand watch with him as night slipped into day. While he was descending those steps however, he found himself believing in a fear of the dark.

And he had been down here for less than a minute. He had started down the steps one at a time cautiously, and when he had gone down about twenty steps, the door from where he had come from sealed shut. Al's world had plunged into darkness, swallowing and suffocating. He held onto the railing with a firm grip. Each step echoed around him like he was in a chamber. Even though he knew that the steps kept leading downwards, he fumbled blindly downwards as though he had risen from a groggy sleep in the middle of the night and he was looking for the light switch.

He presumed that each second that passed was represented with each step he took. But there were so many steps; he had lost count past three hundred. As he couldn't see anything, he couldn't judge distance and he couldn't feel the air pressure, so there wasn't an indication to when this black gloom would end. He hoped that it would be soon.

In a sense, he felt like he was back at the Portal again, yet instead of drowning in a pure white ocean, he was swimming in a tide of jet black shadow. Instead of climbing down steps, he imagined that his legs were kicking at water to keep himself afloat. Al had become light like he was sleepwalking, delicate and cautious in his approach.

He quickened his pace. He climbed down two steps a second. So much for caution. His feet had adopted a rhythm of moving down the steps as if to the beat of a drum. Suddenly, he stumbled as he hit the bottom step. He tested an armoured leg in front of him and found that his foot implanted into firm ground – he edged his weight forwards and there was no indentation in the ground ahead. The path was smooth, and there were no more stairs. Al straightened up and his helmet didn't reverberate like it did when it crashed into a ceiling. He didn't have to droop down like a wilted flower as he did when he was climbing down the stairs.

Al was still surrounded by pitch black. However, pearly white light as faint as a constellation started to wink into existence; fainter than a murmuring heartbeat before becoming stronger, brighter. Al's eyes would have squinted if he inhabited his real body, but he had to make do with tilting his helmet to the side in order to avoid the harsh glow, burning as bright as a flame.

The light began to approach him, moving as swift as a swallow in flight. Al realized that it belonged to a figure, holding the ghostly white light on a staff which glowed around their head. On the palm of its owner, a transmutation circle was shining eerily like the disk of the silver moon. The figure was clothed in a dark, crimson red cloak which nearly touched the ground. Their feet were bare, and as white as snow.

And as their face came into view like a phantom coming to light, Al gasped in surprise.

It was Virtue.


	17. Chapter 17

Don the Armour

Oh my goodness how long. Too long. I apologise for the delay, and the cheesiness of this chapter. I have been busy writing so much dark stuff, I latched onto the fluff the instant I saw this opportunity.

Update month is here! I hope you enjoy, and I'll be updating soon :)

* * *

Chapter 17: Promises to Keep

What was happening? Al's mind was a blur-

But in the end all he could say was: "How are you here?"

Virtue was all smiles. They were looking at the ground, as if staring into a long-lost memory and turned to face Alphonse, the armoured knight in his ghostly light. Alphonse was the stranger in these shadowy depths and he felt like a tide of black was consuming him whole.

Except that he wasn't whole…

"You are the reason we are here, Alphonse," Virtue whispered in their eerie tone. They turned around and walked off lost in the shadows, becoming a ghost once again. If Al wanted answers, he knew there was one choice: he followed.

* * *

He was lucky that in the armour he didn't need to breathe. Because he could _feel_ the decay seeping through the tunnel's walls, coating their surfaces like a mould. This place was supposed to have been abandoned for a long time, and here, the shadow world was operating below the people living on blissfully aware above.

Virtue always remained in sight. Despite Al possessing the body which needed neither nourishment nor rest, Virtue led the way down the dark tunnel, their footsteps lost in a whisper of echoes and shadow.

"Um, Virtue…are we close yet?" he didn't have enough time. But when had Alphonse Elric ever had enough time? A part of the Truth scoffed in his mind.

"Patience is a virtue, young one," Virtue trilled at their play on words, but then turned to face Al with those calculating eyes, and without breaking eye contact, came to a stop and gestured with a hand towards his right. Somehow they had reached a door, which was wide open. And from what Al could see through its depths, there was not a single discernible figure on the other side.

Al hesitated. This was undoubtedly a trap. But…it would protect everyone else. He had known this was a trap the moment he stepped into the car. However, he quashed the voice of the Ed in his mind, yelling: "Don't do this Al this is one big mistake!"

 _You're only a figment of my imagination, Brother. Let me be the hero. Let me protect you this time._

"They're waiting. Come on, Elric, don't you have promises to keep?" Virtue grinned, their white teeth a haunting contrast in the navy and black hues of the tunnel. They looked nearly as menacing as Truth. But not quite.

"I do," Al stated simply, and with the dull clank of his footsteps being the only sound remaining, he moved through the open door, not glancing back once.

Lights suddenly flashed on around him, and for a moment he was sent back to the lights of the stadium…the flash of alchemy…and his metaphorical heart started beating, and if he could have had surges of nausea, he would have felt them now. Even if he didn't possess a body that did not mean that he could not feel the wave of anxiety course through him like electricity, as tangible and real as nightmares were to him.

The room was concrete. No windows and no sunlight. Already Al wanted to stand on top of the valleys in Resembool, where the wind was crisp and the moon and sun and stars were always shining. Even in the rain, they were there. However, cramped beneath the earth, he didn't feel _right._ It had been a feeling that had gradually been making him feel worse since coming to the underground. He couldn't explain it -

"Listen to your gut" as Brother said. Al thought "intuition" was a more accurate description.

The Ed in Al's mind shook his head lightly, chuckling to himself at his little brother's attempt at asserting his authority. The younger brother _had_ to be the mature one.

He knew that as an alchemist, he was closer to the raw tectonic power that fuelled each and every alchemic reaction that he performed (even though he was limited with what he could do). Like a mouse ensnared in a fox's jaws, Al felt at the mercy of alchemy's power, as if it was a person, cool and reverent. Truth was Heaven. This place…was a blend of Hell and Purgatory that Al couldn't make sense of.

Al was afraid. Al wanted to flee. But most of all, a burning desire to perform alchemy bubbled through his (also metaphorical) veins. He wanted to transmute and illustrate the network of alchemy that lived beneath the earth, like a heartbeat. He had its power at his disposal, and that made him afraid of what it could be utilised for-

"Welcome, Elric," a voice boomed across the room. Al realized with a jolt that his mind had become preoccupied with his...feverish desire for power. He shook his helmet lightly, surprised at his uncontrolled emotions. He stepped out of his reverie, locking eyes with a figure sat in a chair with military uniform…

"Sir!" Al squeaked, about to stand to attention before remembering that he was not a State Alchemist and hence did not have a military rank. And more importantly, the figure sitting in front of him did not wear the same ultramarine uniform as the Amestrian military was renowned for (a blue sea that came mercilessly into every battlefield and stormed the opposition). This uniform was a muted blend of brown and green, like old pinecones, fur-trimmed, and Al imagined the room was filled with the musk of cold and rich forests, of open mountain air. This man was undoubtedly from Drachma.

The General (he boosted a large number of medals and insignia blazed on his chest) laughed heavily, causing Al's metal to shake against the vibrations. The man was more muscular than Major Armstrong, but half his height. He had a wrestler's build, but could easily weave out of challenging situations. From a combat perspective, the man had an advantage to weigh out each of his disadvantages.

"Lame," his Ed muttered, folding his arms and grunting in contempt.

 _Brother, he looks deadly!_ Al cautioned the fantastical Ed, who waved Al's indignation with a wave of his hand.

"No, look at the proportions of his shoulders. One of them is far more hunched than the other. Attack his left side and he'll be helpless!" Ed snarled delightfully, punching a fist into the air.

Ed wasn't just a voice in his head or a hallucination. This Ed was of flesh and blood (or in Al's mind anyway), as if his older brother had transported a part of his consciousness to prevent his baby brother from making any reckless decisions.

 _I'm not going to be attacking anyone, Brother,_ Al squeaked, then imagined himself shaking his head. _Why are you the older one?_

"Aw, come on, Al. You know you need me as your conscience and guidance," Ed laughed, who had then decided to proceed making rude faces at the oblivious man standing across the room from him. That was when Al remembered. This Ed wasn't real. The real Ed was locked away in a hospital...it was Al's fault...and he knew he had to put it right...

 _Oh Brother..._

Al's trail of thought was abrupted when he saw his brother roll his eyes in his direction. The Fullmetal Alchemist, famous automail and coat showing, raised a fist. Al's gauntlet also clenched into a fist, which he used to tap his against his brother's. Even though he couldn't feel the touch, an innate part of his soul was aware of the shifting pressures of the world around him. If he could have smiled, he would have.

"You've got to promise me you'll keep fighting until the end," Ed said seriously, stuffing his hands into his trouser pockets and turning around to look at the tunnel where Al had come from. This surprised Al: Ed was never usually one to back away from a fight.

 _Unless it's something ridiculous, Brother..._ Al hesitated.

"It isn't though," Ed answered simply, but Al couldn't see the reaction on his brother's face. All he could see was his brother's back. And even in a situation like this, Ed was facing the entrance to the tunnel, as if protecting Al from would could be lurking out there in the darkness. That was ironic, since Ed had his back turned from the real threat: the Drachmanian officer. Ed had the ability to draw the presence around him in any setting without realizing what he was doing; he was someone to be watched, respected and admired.

But he was still less of a gentleman than Alphonse.

 _Ok then, what is it?_ Al waited patiently.

"Promise me you'll look after yourself. Not just me, not just Winry, or May. But yourself," Ed pivoted on the spot, and looked at Al with a golden fire ablaze from within his aureate irises.

 _But I-_ Al immediately refuted. Even this Edward - the figment of his imagination - was telling him what to do!

"Please promise me that, Brother," Ed came closer to Al. He reached out with an automail hand but dropped it and lifted his left hand instead. It was shaking, "I can't see you get hurt alone in the dark like this. I promised I would take care of you, but I'm not here...please...promise me, and forgive me..."

 _You stupid idiotic Brother. I promise. But didn't you understand?_ Al smiled as Ed looked up at him puzzled. _We made that promise a long long time ago. It was a promise of actions, and not words. It was a promise of our hearts._

"Brothers?"

 _Brothers. Always._


	18. Chapter 18

Don the Armour

There is a lot revealed in this one - did any of you work it out? ;)

I take many creative liberties here, but if there are any unclear details, these will be revealed later on.

I'll leave you to read on, but before I go, thank you for reading and I hope you enjoy!

* * *

Malice of the North

His brother had restored Al's faith in conquering the world and achieving the impossible.

Alphonse was comforted by hisbrother for the first time in what felt like years. Ed was still here, but a crippled brother that needed Al's help to move was not the strong and undefeatable Fullmetal Alchemist who would not take "no" for an answer...The vision of Ed was _Al's big brother._ The fiery determination that was rivaled to none. The attitude when he was called short. The rare compassionate side that Edward deployed when his older sibling reaction kicked in to protect his little brother.

But they protected each other; that was what being an Elric brother was all about.

"I'm right by your side, Al," Ed's voice whispered, and his form was beginning to fade. Alphonse was back in that makeshift bunker with nobody around him, except from the belief that his brother was by his side, keeping the promises they had sworn and what he would never break.

 _I know, Brother._

"Come, Elric. Would you care for a whiskey?" the General's voice boomed, "it is a pleasure to finally meet you, after all of the trouble you have caused me."

Alphonse was about to accept the offer before he remembered. No body to drink with, and his brother would not be too pleased if he drank while being underage, even if it was to be polite. For Al the latter reason was more important.

"Umm, thank you for your generous offer bu-" Al started but he was cut off when the Drachmanian started to laugh loudly.

"I forget, in your current state you would unable to take me up on my offer, isn't that true?" the man's jovial tone had changed to that of cunning. Al could almost make out Virtue in the shadows smirking.

"How d-do you know?" Al asked, stuttering. He then cursed to himself quietly, _Alphonse, what do you think you are doing? You gave yourself away - you should have kept denying it. This is the biggest secret of your soul..._

"Oh, dear boy, we have a lot to...discuss," the General offered Al a seat next to him, which the younger Elric had no choice but to accept. He was cornered, and even though he could easily escape from this location. However, they knew where Edward was. They could easily get to him, and with the information of Al's weakness, he could easily be blackmailed.

With a clap of his hands, the lights were suddenly brightened and Virtue strolled into the room with a large folder in their hands, which they dumped on the desk. The General gruffly muttered briefly in his gratitude.

"I am General Deodar of Drachma, and within this file contains everything from our current military mission. We want an immortal army that is resistant to the harsh conditions of the Briggs Mountain Range, so we can finally conquer Amestris and the territories beyond, for they rightfully belonged to us before Amestris' military annexed the lands away from our ancestors," Deodar patted the folder gently, his eyes focused somewhere that Al couldn't see.

"Sir, with all due respect, the works of generations before do not reflect the people alive now-" Al started, but the General inhaled with a sharp breath which silenced Alphonse. His armour clanked as he flinched due to the unexpected response.

"Your military plans to expand territory, does it not?" the General questioned, turning the argument against Al. The man was intelligent, Al had to admit. However, Al focused on his imaginary breathing and attempted to keep the cool rationale of a scientist, who saw the world both neutrally and objectively.

"That is part of the military's beliefs," Al acknowledged, however, he thought of General Mustang and Brigadier General Hughes, who wanted to change this country for the better. Attitudes were shifting, and despite this change not seeming apparent, the change was happening faster now than ever before, especially with the aftermath of the Promised Day. He sighed, "but not everyone believes in it."

"Do you?" the General asked simply.

"Of course not!" Al responded, although his voice was straining with emotion again. It was nearly impossible for him to sound completely detached; he did not know how Ed or the General could do it.

"The world is a place to be protected...and I will fight for those I love," Al justified, sharing the truth from his heart. He couldn't pretend he was someone that he was not.

"Always the sentimental brother, weren't you, Al?" the Ed beside him teased, "where would Amestris be without someone like you?"

 _Please stop, Brother..._ Al would have blushed had the armour not guarded his inner feelings.

"Pft. It's true. The Fullmetal Alchemist never worked alone," Ed admitted, and Al knew that it was _his_ turn to take the lead. The plots were surrounding him this time, just like with Greed, and Al only hoped he could make them proud.

Deodar's coughing snapped Al out of his reverie, and he realized that he had missed what the General had said.

"-and you are the final piece," the man exclaimed. He slammed his fist against the table and pulled a hip flask from his pocket, taking a large swig of whiskey.

Al was reminded of a game of chess. Sixty-four squares. Thirty-two pieces in total. At the start of the game, the possibilities were virtually infinite; it was the choices that determined the outcome. No wonder why General Mustang was an excellent battle strategist: he knew the strengths and weaknesses of each member of his battalion. Quiet and gentle Alphonse had never sought out the spotlight (but when he was related to a certain someone that couldn't be helped). However, when a pawn reached the end of the board, it could become the most powerful piece. Something insignificant could be important.

"I won't be used in your game," Al said angrily, thinking of Winry and May and Ed. And all of the people he had had the pleasure of meeting and sharing his journey with. Very few of them were corrupt. The majority of the citizens in Amestris were good people, forced into war by conscription, to protect their children and families. Amestris had taken that freedom away from the countries it had annexed. But it was changing.

The peace treaty! Drachma wanted to ruin the efforts for peace and that made Al frustrated.

"Do you know why you are so valuable?" the General started fiddling with his fur-rimmed gloves, distracted and ignoring Al's creaking helmet, as if ashamed to gaze upon a bodiless boy.

"I am like this," Al clanked his armour and he received a grunt in affirmation.

"Your soul is very adept to taking that form," the General began, and he slid of his chair and paced the room, staring at the walls, as if being thrown back into a distant memory. "The years spent without your body has given your soul resistance, so to say.

"Your brother could no longer put you in that form with a lack of alchemy, and no other person alive has seen through the Portal as much as you have, Alphonse Elric. If placed under the right circumstances, your disposition would make you choose to stand as a martyr rather than allowing your friends to suffer-"

"I would never die and let my friends live on and suffer without me!" Al refuted, and he heard a dim applause from outside of the room. Virtue was still there. general Deodar was breaking Al's temperance down layer by layer, like cracking through a shell, much faster than what it would take most people.

"Of course not," Deodar waved a hand in the air, dismissing Alphonse's suddenly willfulness. He was more like his brother than just appearance. Deodar spoke quickly after that, not giving Al a chance to reply.

"You and Edward have connecting Portals, or _had,_ since he sacrificed his to bring yours back. But as your destinies are as intertwined as Virtue's, albeit in different ways, this would mean Edward could access your Portal. If harm came to Edward, and you were resorted to using human transmutation, you would journey to your Gate of Truth. Your soul would more easily detach from your body and the Truth is ironic. You would lose the body you had fought so hard to obtain as an Equivalent Exchange.

"So all our job was was to isolate other potential alchemists will keeping you and your brother close together...We needed all of you ignorant alchemists in one place."

Realization clicked in Al instantly, "you caused the explosion? You caused all of that?"

"The logistics are more complicated than that, Elric, but yes, that was the basic formula."

" _Formula? Are you kidding me?"_ Al spat, his tone deadly earnest.

This man had caused the panic and confusion on what had been a celebration for families with innocent children! Waves of anger rippled throughout Alphonse's armour, causing it to clack involuntarily. May had been so excited to watching the Amestrian Games. And brother...his legs...

Virtue grinned maddeningly like a certain Homunculus, and entered the room with the grace of a bird, as lithe as a wildcat. They stood in the corner of the room with their arms folded, their feet tapping impatiently upon the ground.

Al then realized that there were eyes watching him in a circle, dozens of pairs of eyes beaming from the shadows...

"You're telling me this because I won't get to leave, will I?" Al said, feeling the pressure of his armour shifting and hearing the iron clank against each other. This was his to control...

"I have never beaten you in a fight, Al," Ed smiled, and started laughing with his hands over his stomach, wiping his eyes, trying to control his breathing, "these damn fools are _nothing_ compared to my brother!"

Al rubbed his gauntlets, dropping into a fighting stance.

"No, Elric," Deodar said.

And the door sealed shut.


	19. Chapter 19

Don the Armour

Hi everyone! Woah this update took a long time to come out...I've been working on it on and off for a couple of months. Illness, school and more illness kept me from completing the chapter until now, so for that I apologise!

I've had bad earache over the weekend and when it finally starts to recover I get woken up at 4am by a demanding cat who wanted to be fed. Why couldn't she choose to harass anyone else...Lesson learnt: feed the cat EXTRA FOOD before bed. XD

Hope you enjoy and thanks for reading (and sorry for the cliffhanger!) :D

* * *

World Turning

Alphonse could not count the number of pairs of eyes that danced from the shadows within the now-locked room. They did not stay in one distinct location; instead the eyes stealthily shifted around him like an ocean of darkness, keeping close to the walls.

 _Confuse your opponent. The less confident they are in a fight, the greater your chances of success,_ Teacher's words growled in Al's mind. Al knew he was thought to be the better fighter than Ed, but it was because he took the time to think and follow his attack through rather than recklessly hurling himself into battle.

"Hey, Al, that's not fair!" the imaginary Ed complained loudly, even though nnobody else could hear his brother's vocal moaning.

 _Well, it's true, Brother,_ Al silently responsed and felt the clanking limbs of his armour relax. His soul's control over all aspects of the armour began to flow like a gentle tide but also the force of a strong current in a river. Calm and composed, but prepared to do some damage.

Ed and Al wouldn't kill their enemies. After what had happened to their mother and more recently with the events of the Promised Day, they both understood how precious human life was, no matter what form it came in. His armoured fist tightened- he was still human.

This hollow, empty body contained life within it. Al experienced happiness and sadness and pain and joy as much as he would in his flesh body. And as he was an already skilled fighter, the armour provided him with the battle advantage that he was nearly indestructible.

Battle tactics were flowing through his mind. As he knew nothing about his opponents, his first task was to create a mental profile of their strengths and weaknesses. Questions raced through his mind, questions he wanted answered:

 _Are these people alchemists?_

 _Do they have any apparent weapons?_

 _Where will they strike?_

While Creta and Aerugo had developed and specialised forms of their own alchemy like Xing, Drachma harnessed tectonic energy to fuel their alchemy as Amestrian alchemists did. This helped Alphonse significantly as he would be able to neutralise their alchemy knowing its mechanism. He would refrain from using alchemy if he could- he much preferred hand-to-hand combat.

The less he risked, the better.

Suddenly, he heard footsteps sounding behind him and the Elric brother pivoted on the spot. His right gauntlet swung forward but the lithe figure dodged the attack by ducking low to the ground. His attacker than swung a foot forward. His armour was relatively robust and as a result he didn't expect the attacker to hit his leg with enough force to topple him over. The enemy then swiped at his front plate which would have shredded him if he had skin. Before Al could retaliate, the figure had retreated to the safety of the shadows.

Al stabilised his footing at the last moment and surged forward, planting his feet on the ground. He would not be caught off-guard again that easily.

Some of the questions that had been flowing through his brain were being answered. His attacker did not want him dead; they could have landed a fatal blow on a mortal body but the swipe had been sufficiently deep to sear skin, yet not severe enough to draw enough blood out of the body to cause death by blood loss.

The enemy was also trying to keep their attacks restricted to Al's back. Al confirmed this suspicion when he turned around and spotted the figure lunging forward to attack him. Their features were obscured by a black cloak that just touched the ground like a flurry of shadow. He heard a surprised gasp shake from the attacker. Al was now able to attack first. He curled his fists together and slammed them on the enemy's head or where he assumed it was. If he could render his enemy unconscious without doing any significant damage to them, the sooner Al could speak to General Deodar.

Al was determined that the man would listen to reason. Even though he was furious about what the man had taken away from his brother, he was a pacifist. It was ironic how many fights he had ended up seeing through as a result of their alchemic abilities.

However, his attack didn't appear to _graze_ the figure. They should have at least _stumbled_ from the force. Al reassessed when he had used the attack from past experience. He made some quick mental calculations (he was an alchemic prodigy like his brother after all) and it still didn't add up...

Why had his attack had no effect on the enemy?

When had he last felt disadvantaged and this precautious in a fight on his own?

Images from memories flashed in his mind's eye. He remembered the last time that he had felt so helpless in the Devil's Nest. The very air had reeked of an unspoken evil, like the basement had when he and Ed had tried to bring their mother back from the other side. It was a twisted feat of alchemy that was causing this reek. And Al knew from experience that some of his close friends shared the same taboo.

Chimeras.

The word would have sent shivers down his soul if he had not gone on his journey with Ed in search of the Philosopher's Stone. He had thought to himself every night over those long years that he hated the body he possessed. But without it, he would not have met all of the wonderful people who had helped to give his life meaning. It had been hard losing Trisha, and his father had not been actively involved in parenthood throughout his time in Resembool. Al had Brother and Granny and Winry and Teacher, but he had been secluded in his own little world. It was not until Ed became a State Alchemist and they began to search across Amestris that Al realized that the world is enormous. And even if grief or pain or sadness threatened to choke him on each and every sleepless night he had, holding a crying Ed until the nightmares faded away, the world would keep on turning.

It was only those who fought for their place who would be the ones to realize that the world really could be beautiful, in its own way.

The hood of the attacker slid over their head and Alphonse took a steady breath, although the shock still shook his soul. In front of him was an adult chimera, with beady black eyes and a nose that huffed out cool jets of air. Their skull was elongated and thickened, and a small stubby pair of horns unfurled on the top of their head. The animal that had been fused to create this chimera must have been a ram.

"Please, let me be. I don't want to attack you!" Al exclaimed, but his pleas fell on deaf ears. The chimera stepped backwards into the shadows.

"I have no choice in the matter, kid," the gruff voice responded in a tone that sounded similar to General Deodar. The tone of the chimera was different though...sympathetic...pleading. He had to have come from Drachma or the North Area in Amestris! To think that Amestris was not the only country riddled with the sinful results of alchemy was enough to make Alphonse quiver.

He heard a snicker that sounded frightfully similar to Virtue. In that instant, Al froze.

He had felt _pity_ for Virtue and their plight. The younger Elric brother knew from first-hand experience what it was like to lose something precious, especially when that something defined who you were. Virtue had given up their two selves to Truth and in return the Gate had spluttered out the product, which was the Virtue left to prowl Amestris. Al was positively sure that Virtue was the one who had transformed this man into a chimera. Virtue was the type of being that would be able to find a way to blackmail an individual by any means necessary. Virtue was an offspring of alchemy used for the wrong intent, and not the chimera. The suit of armour shook his head sharply- this man was _not_ just a chimera, which implied that he was nothing more than a monster. The word "chimera" implied that all humanity had been stripped from the man the moment the array had activated that would have changed his life forever.

As far as Al was concerned, he was still human.

If Alphonse had not had his brother to give his life a goal, a purpose, a reason to keep moving forward, he would not have known what he should have lived for. If he had lost Ed on that devastating night, as well as killing his mother for a second time (as he would have believed as a ten year old boy), he would have lost his mind to senselessness not long after. Virtue had taken the dark and twisted path Al feared he would have wandered down if it wasn't for his big brother...

"I cannot believe you're putting yourself down so much, Al," Ed muttered, his hands shoved into his pockets. His red cloak swamped him.

 _You're the Hero of the People, Brother,_ Al flinched at his brother's menacing glare that flashed in his direction. His golden eyes displayed the full fury of the Sun, blazing heat and energy, as if nothing could defy its celestial power.

"Hero of the People. Edward Elric. Fullmetal Alchemist. So many dumb and pathetic titles," Ed bared his teeth, his fangs looking sharper than usual. "Show them who _you_ are, Alphonse!"

 _Who am I though? I'm certainly not the Fullmetal Alchemist..._ Al chuckled to himself sarcastically. Everybody had seen the suit of armour. Nobody saw Ed's automail. The true identity of the Fullmetal Alchemist was a shock to the world in each place it was revealed.

"Told ya already, Al. You are _you_ ," Ed ended ambiguously and before Al could react, his brother, who was only a wisp and figment of his imagination, was gone once again.

That had been strange: Brother was characteristically known to be direct, but he had been intentionally vague to Al.

There was no time to think as the man charged at him from the shadows at an alarming speed, his head bowed and horns glistening deadly in the dim light.

Al leaped out of the way leaving his enemy to flail for a couple of seconds in order to regain his balance. Like a ram, his special power was that he could charge with intense speed and precision. However, once started on their charge, they could not stop. Al's theory on this had proven to be accurate.

His attacker snorted angrily and rapidly turned to face Alphonse and began their charge again. His energy was boundless.

"Let's finish this now," the half-man, half-ram called to Alphonse as he approached, "I have a family I need to get back to."


End file.
